


When You Were Mine

by celine_cooperjones



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Drugs, F/M, Halice is later in the story, Implied Sexual Content, Prison, Teen Falice, Young Love, but if you ship them you probably won’t like their storyline, falice - Freeform, it’s important though so I’m tagging it, serpents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-10-08 09:25:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 85
Words: 82,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17383949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celine_cooperjones/pseuds/celine_cooperjones
Summary: "He wanted it back. He wanted it all back. Because truth be told, he missed it. He missed everything they had and did together. He missed her."FP Jones had never been in love before, never even really had feelings for anyone before. Until he met her. The new girl at school, Alice Smith. From the moment he laid eyes on her he was smitten and FP Jones fell in love for the first time.But it would never be that easy for the two of them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is also posted on Wattpad but I felt like I should post it on here too since there’s been a lack of Falice fics lately.

"He wanted it back. He wanted it all back. Because truth be told, he missed it. He missed everything they had and did together. He missed her."

FP Jones had never been in love before, never even really had feelings for anyone before. Until he met her. The new girl at school, Alice Smith. From the moment he laid eyes on her he was smitten and FP Jones fell in love for the first time.

But it would never be that easy for the two of them.

“I’m the owner of that heart you stole.”


	2. Always on my Mind

He wanted it back. He wanted it all back. Because truth be told, he missed it. He missed everything they had and did together. He missed her.

He missed her fiery personality and the way she would do crazy things for the thrill.  
He missed her contagious laugh and gorgeous smile. 

How she would squeeze his hand when she got nervous or scared.

The way her eyes shined like diamonds and the way her skin glowed when bathed in sunlight.

The way she said his name in different situations. Sweet and soft when speaking to or of him. Deep and breathy when in throes of passion. Or raspy when she was angry at him. And if he was being honest with himself there was something sexy about the way she said his name when she was angry with him. 

He missed the way her legs tightened around his waist when he picked her up.

And how she would run her fingers through his hair subconsciously as they talked and cuddled. Or when she would pull lightly on the strands as they kissed. 

The way she would push him back and straddle his legs with her own.

The way she would look up at him through her eyelids when on her knees in front of him. 

The way her body would react to his touch, like when he placed his lips against the spot on her neck.

The way she would drag her fingernails lightly across his back as the feeling overtook her.

And the sounds they shared together as they filled each other so completely. 

He missed waking up to her in his bed, or sneaking out of her window in the early hours of the morning.

He missed her. And he wanted it all back. Every beautiful moment they shared together, even the bad ones. And they had their fair share of both. 

He loved her. He loved her through all the good and bad times, and there was a lot of both. He loved her despite her flaws, because to him she was perfect, and he loves everything she hates about herself. 

He loved her the moment he laid eyes on her, and truth be told he never stopped loving her. Even after all these years.

He can't help but fondly remember all the times she would sneak him into her bedroom window. Or when she would pull him into an abandoned closet at school for an impromptu make-out session. It was all indications that she loved him, with everything in her. Not that she hid it. 

When she would fall apart around him she would do so letting his name roll off her tongue repeatedly and letting the words "I love you" slip from her lips.

She had him, in every way possible. Emotionally, mentally, physically. She had him wrapped around her finger from the day they met, hell, she still has him wrapped around her finger and they haven't spoken in years. 

But he wouldn't have it any other way. 

His love for her never went away, and he knew deep down that it never ever would. 

Perhaps that's why his wife left, and perhaps that's why he drank so much. To try and swallow her memory. But it was no use, because she was it.

He had never been in love before her, everyone before her was so meaningless to him. But when he met her his entire world flipped upside down and FP Jones fell in love for the very first time. She stole his heart. 

He'll never forget the first time he saw her, it was like she was the only person in the world... Alice Smith.

Alice Cooper now since she married the rich, boring, son of the snobbiest family in Riverdale. 

FP always said he wasn't right for her, said he didn't match her in any way. They were as opposite as two people could be. But over the years he had managed to turn her into the perfect stepford. The girl his parents would approve of for their perfect son, the woman who would have his children that they would raise in a white picket yard and big suburban house.

It all made FP sick, for he knew the real Alice. The one who would try anything once just to say she had, the one who would do risky things because she loved the thrill. He loved that side of her, and deep down he knew that side was still there. She knew it too, but she hardly ever let that side of her come out. She didn't want to bring out that part of her when she had worked so hard to keep it at bay. 

He loved her even now and still she's always on his mind, just like when they were young. 

He hadn't seen her a lot, since she has now loved to the Northside of town and he had stayed on the Southside. But when he did see her his heart still fluttered for her and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her and tell her he loved her. 

But she's married, to the wrong man mind you, but nonetheless married.

So instead he's left to his memories of her. And he'll never forget the day he first laid his eyes on Alice Smith in the fall of 1994.


	3. New Girl in Town

September 1994.  
FP Jones woke up with a groan and slammed his hand down on his alarm clock.

First day of school. His least favourite time of the year, ever single year. But it was his junior year, which meant he only had one more year left before never having to return.

He pulled himself out of bed and got ready for the day. His outfit consisted of the same thing he always wore, a t-shirt with a flannel overtop and a pair of jeans. He didn't bother with his hair, only running his fingers through it to tame it a bit.

And then he was off to school. He swung by the Andrews household to pick up his best friend Fred so they could drive to school together.   
"Hey." Fred said as he got in the truck, seeming just as enthused about the day as FP.

"Hey."

"Just think, 179 more days until summer vacation." Fred said.

"You already have it calculated?" FP laughed.

"Of course I do. I want out of here just as bad as you do."

"I thought you'd be excited to be flaunting around your relationship with Hermione."

"What relationship? She won't commit, to her it's just a meaningless fling."

"Means something more to you?"

"Yeah, I mean she's great. But she just... she won't make it official and I've tried, but I guess all our relationship is to her is just meaningless sex."

"That's not always a bad thing."

"Says you. All you have is meaningless sex."

"Do not."

"Fine, name one girl you've done it with that meant even the slightest to you?"

FP thought for a moment, he knew Fred was right. He had never cared too much for any of the girls he slept with, but he hated being wrong.

"Carrie Price."

"Bullshit."

"What? We dated for a while."

"You two dated for like a month, there was no emotions in that and you both know it."

"Hey I remember being pretty upset when we broke up."

"Only because she cheated on you with Chris Colton after he made varsity and you didn't."

"Whatever." FP stopped talking when he realized he couldn't fight it anymore.

Fred was right. There was not a girl he had been with that meant something to him. Sure he had been interested in plenty of girls but he had never fallen for anyone.

They pull into the school parking lot and hop out of the truck with a groan. Neither one wanting to face the day ahead of them, but knowing they really had no choice.

They walked in to the building just in time as the bell rang. They parted way and went off to class.

FP walked into his first class of the day, calculus, he hated it. He took a seat in an empty desk across from Mary Prince, a good friend of him and Fred.

"Shocked you came, usually you skip calculus." She said without looking up from her notebook.

"Can't really skip on the first day, or I wouldn't be here."

The teacher walked in and started the lesson. FP was more than ready to go home, or at least take a nap at his desk. But he suffered through it until the bell rang, and as soon as it did he was out of his seat in a flash.

He walked out of the classroom with Mary following behind and they joined Fred in the hall. Fred gave an acknowledging bump to Mary's shoulder and she smiled at him. No one knew but FP that Mary had the hots for Fred, always had. So it's no surprise that as soon as she sees Hermione Dias approaching them she says her goodbyes.

They hear a squeal and then suddenly two arms are flung around Fred's waist as he swapped textbooks in his locker.

He turned around and smiled when he saw who it was. She placed a kiss upon his lips and he turned so she was pressed up against his locker door.

FP watched with a look of mild disgust on his face as the two had a full blown make-out session right beside him.

He slammed his locker door shut causing them both to jump.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I interrupt?" FP taunted. Hermione glared at him.

"You're just jealous because you're lonely and horny." Hermione flashed a bitchy smile at FP and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Am not."

"No? Say FP when was the last time you got some action?" FP ignored the question and turned back to his locker, Hermione and Fred continued their impromptu make out session.

After FP grabbed his books he closed his locker and turned around. And as he did he caught a glimpse of a girl across the hall and down a bit farther. He couldn't see her face but he was fascinated nonetheless. She had on a pair of jeans and a flannel, simple but it was enough to grab his attention.

He watched her grab things out of her locker, waiting for her to turn around so he could see her face. No doubt she'd be pretty, he just had a feeling. But when she finally did turn he was even more in awe.

Her blonde waves swung on her shoulders as she turned. He was more than right, because she wasn't just pretty, she was stunning. And something about her had encapsulated FP's attention immediately.

"Hey who's that?" He nudged Hermione but didn't take his eyes off of the girl. Fred and Hermione broke apart and looked in the same direction as FP.

"Alice Smith. She's knew here, just moved in on the Southside of town. She's in my first period chemistry class, lab partner for the year." Hermione said nonchalantly before adding on. "Why do you ask?" She smirked.

"No reason. I'll see you guys later."

"Hey FP you leave her alone, she's a nice girl. She doesn't deserve to be one of your many hump and dumps." Hermione said loud enough for FP to hear as he walked down the hall. He turned and grinned at them, not bothering to say anything back.

He continued on to his next class, English with Mr. Dawson. English was one of the few classes FP actually enjoyed, mainly because it was the only one he considered himself semi good at.

He found a seat in the already full class and sat down. He doodled random things in his notebook as he waited for class to start. He was so lost in his thoughts of the girl in the hall that he didn't notice when anybody new walked in.

"Is anyone sitting here?" A sweet voice asked. He looked up and saw it was the girl. He sat up straighter in his seat before answering.

"I, uh, no." He stuttered. She smiled as she sat and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

He was about to say something, about to introduce himself, but the teacher spoke and interrupted him before he got the chance.

"Welcome back class. I'm Mr. Dawson for those of you who don't know. Now I hope you picked your seat carefully and tolerate the person next to you, because it'll be your seat until the end of the semester."

FP felt something when Alice turned to him and smiled softly. He didn't know what he felt, but he wasn't mad, he was actually happy how it all worked out. He got to sit next to the beautiful blonde for the rest of the semester and he was excited for once to come to class everyday.

The bell rang and FP wondered where the time had went. He stood up from his desk and wasn't paying attention as he ran into Alice whose books crashed to the floor from the impact.

"Oh geez, I'm sorry." FP said as he got down to pick up her books. She joined him, kneeling beside him on the tile as they collected her thing.

"Don't be, I'm such a klutz." She laughed a little as she spoke, and FP decided it was one of his new favourite sounds.

"No really, I wasn't paying attention, I-" he stopped mid sentence due to the realization he was starting to ramble. Then he smiled a little as he stood up with her books in hand. He stuck out a hand to her and smiled. "FP Jones." He stated.

She shook his hand with her own and smiled softly. "Alice Smith."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too." She said as he handed her her books.

"Haven't seen you around here before, you new to town?"

"Yeah, just moved here in August."

"Well welcome." He said and they shared a smile.

"Where'd you move from?"

"Just across the river, Greendale."

"Ah, much nicer over here."

"Yeah I guess. We moved to the Southside of town so it's a little more rundown than here on the Northside."

"Tell me about it, I've lived on the Southside my whole life."

"You have? I haven't seen you around at all."

"Yeah I caught a job with a friend of mine who lives up here on the Northside. Crashed at his place a lot."

"Ah, so that's why I never saw you. I think I would've remembered you if I had."

"I know I would've remembered you." He noticed her smile out of the corner of his eye and it caused a grin to appear on his face. What was it about her that got him so giddy?

"Look I don't want to seem to forward but if you're free tonight maybe I could give you a little tour around town? Southside isn't really that bad if you've seen the good places."

"That sounds great but I actually have something I have to do tonight." She said, the disappointment was clear in her voice and FP noticed it instantly.

"Oh, that's fine." He tried to hide the disappointment in his voice but Alice picked up on it.

"But, I'm free tomorrow? If the offer still stands."

He smiled a little and turned to her. "Yeah, it's a plan."

"Great. Well I'll see you then FP."

"Can't wait." He didn't mean to say it, it just slipped out. But really he couldn't wait, he was excited to get to spend the day with her. And unbeknownst to him, she was just as excited.  
She smiled at him before walking down the hall to her locker.

When Fred met FP at his locker he noticed the huge grin plastered on his face and questioned him.

"What's got you so happy?"

"Nothing." He said nonchalantly. But then he turned towards her locker and she turned at the same time and they shared a glance and a brief smile before they turned away. "Nothing at all."


	4. The Dance

After school FP and Fred stopped by Pop's Chocklit shop to get something to eat. They stayed there for about an hour or so before FP dropped Fred back off at home.

He hadn't made any plan to go to the Whyte Wyrm but since he had some time on his hands he though, why not.

So he drove his truck to the bar and walked inside, the instant smell of leather, alcohol and cigarettes was like home to him. It's what his house had always smelt like when his father lived with him, it was comforting in a strange way.

He ordered a beer at the bar and soon enough he heard his name being called.

"FP!" A long haired serpent name Tall Boy yelled when he saw FP walk in.

"Hey Tall Boy."

"Didn't know you were stopping by."

"Neither did I."

"Hey did you hear the news?"

"What news?"

"We got a new person going through the last stage of initiation tonight."

"Really?" FP took a sip from his bottle.

"Yeah, and rumour has it she's a pretty young thing."

"It's a girl?"

"That's what I've been told. No ideas what her name is, or where she's from though."

"Ah." FP took another swing of beer as Tall Boy lit up a cigarette.

They talked for a bit before their conversation was interrupted by loud cheering. It's only then that they hear the racy music booming through the speakers.

"Initiation" they speak at the same time as they rise from their stools and hurry to the crowd.   
They see a blonde girl dancing suggestively on stage, with her back turned to them, wearing nothing but lacy black lingerie. FP looks at her, her blonde hair seeming oddly familiar to him.

All the young boys in the crowd, and some girls are whistling, while the older men look uncomfortable.

She turns around and FP's jaw almost drops to the floor when he sees that it's Alice. He watches as she continues her dance, but still can't shake how shocked he is by the fact that the plans she told him she had tonight were becoming a Serpent.

She pressed her back against the pole, her hand above her head, as she slowly moved down. That was when he caught her eye.

No doubt she was shocked to see him there but she was also secretly excited that he was here watching her. So she winked at him and smiled a little as she stood up.

FP felt his heart drop as she winked at him, he knew it was directed to him. And he decided quickly that her smile was one of his most favourite things.

She circled the pole, leaning her head back, letting her blonde hair cascade loosely. He watched in awe, not because of the lack of clothing she had on or the way she was dancing, just because she was her.

He didn't know what it was about her that captured his interest so intently, but ever since he saw her today she's been on his mind. Something that hasn't happened with any other girl he had seen before.

It was like the last 4 minutes had gone by in a blur, because before he knew it she was holding onto the pole and arching her body as the last note of the song rang out. She straightened her body slowly, leaning back into the pole. The crowd cheered as she finished her dance, but some were sad to see her finish so soon.

FP shimmied off his jacket and rushed towards the stairs of the stage where she would be coming off.

He got there right as she stepped off the last step.

"That was quite the show." FP smiled as he held out his jacket for her to cover up with.

"Thank you." She said with a smile as she turned around and slipped her arms in the sleeves of his jacket.

"And nice song choice. I must say 'Black Velvet' isn't one I've heard during an initiation. Definitely made an impression."

"Well that was the plan." She smiled a little at him.

He found it mesmerizing how, even after seeing the dance she just did, her voice still sounded so sweet.

"When you said you had plans tonight, I didn't expect this." He laughed a little as he said it, because it was true. He expected her plans to be hanging out with some friends, family dinner, maybe a movie. But stripping in front of an entire crowd, now that was something else.

"Well I didn't exactly know how to tell you that I was coming to the Whyte Wyrm to strip for a bunch of people so I can join a gang. Not exactly something you tell someone when you first meet them." She says as they make their way away from the stage. "And besides, I wanted to make a good impression." She adds on and he smiles.

"Well you definitely did."

"Yeah stripping for somebody is a great first impression."

"No not that. I meant at school today. You made an impression on me the minute I saw you." He watches as her cheeks blush and then she turns to him and smiles.

"Well if we're being honest here, there was lots of available seats in class but I took the one next to you because you made an impression on me too."

"Did I?" FP smirked as he said it and Alice laughed, and god, how he loved the sound.

"Yeah, you did. But you were completely oblivious to everything and everyone around you so you didn't notice."

"Only because I had just seen you."

"Oh so it's my fault you weren't paying attention?"

"Yeah it is. You're an easy distraction."

They share a smile as they go to the room where Alice had left her clothes before going onstage.

When they reach the room he slows down, thinking he's just going to wait for her until she comes out. But she surprises him by taking his hand in her own and pulling him into the room with her.

She lets his hand go as she goes over to grab her clothes and he just stands there. Not really knowing what to say or do as she gets dressed.

She pulls on her jeans and throws him his serpent jacket before putting on her flannel and doing up the buttons.

He still stands there, not entirely sure why she pulled him in the room with her. But also not complaining because he'd much rather spend time with her than some of the people out there.

She walks past him, motioning her finger at him to follow her, and he does. Truthfully, he'd follow her anywhere if she asked. It was almost like he was under her spell, and they had only met this morning.

"We still on for tomorrow?" She asks as they near the exit. She leans back against the door and waits for his response.

"Yeah, for sure." She smiles at him, which in turn makes him smile.

"Great, can't wait. I'll see you tomorrow then." She smiles once more at him before pushing the door open. He follows her.

"Wait you're leaving?" He says, a little disappointed that she's going so soon.

"Well I mean I'd like to get home before midnight, we do have school tomorrow." She turns away from him and keeps walking.

"At least let me give you a ride?" He offers, hopping she'll take him up on it.

She stops and turns around to face him, a small smile threatening to peek out. "Alright." She agrees and walks back towards him. He smiles and swings his keys around as he walks to his truck, her following close behind.

⚜️

He pulls up to her house, surprisingly nice, considering it's on the Southside.

"Thanks for the ride." She says as she unbuckles her seatbelt.

"Thanks for the show." He says causing her to laugh.

"You're never going to forget it are you?" She opens her door and he does the same.

"Nope."

He walks her up to her front door, something he never did with any of the other girls he took out. What was it about Alice?

"Thanks again for the ride." She says, this time noticeably more shy and quiet.

"Anytime."

You could cut the sexual tension with a knife, but neither of them were willing to make the first move. Until Alice leaned in and placed a longing kiss on FP's cheek, her lipstick leaving a mark on his skin.

"Night FP." She said as she opened the door.

"Night Alice."

After she went inside he got in his truck and sat there for a moment just smiling like a fool.

Alice Smith has already got him wrapped around her finger and it hasn't even been 24 hours.


	5. Parking lot Kisses

FP swings his backpack over his shoulder and closed his locker door. The last class of the day is finally over so now he gets to go on that date with Alice.

They had flirted all throughout English class, whether it be a smile or a note being passed. And sometimes when the teacher wasn't looking she would run her foot up his leg.

He looks down the hall and sees her at her locker. He walks up behind her but she doesn't notice.

"Hey tiny dancer, ready for our date tonight." He says, causing her to jump when she finally realizes he's behind her. She turns around to face him and smiles a little, as much as she tries not to.

"You're never going to forget about it are you?" She rolls her eyes and turns back to her locker.

"Nope, never going to let you forget it either."

"Wouldn't expect anything less from you. And who said this was a date? I thought it was just a little tour around the Southside of town?"

"Well that was before last night, I think we shared a moment when I dropped you off."

"Oh did we now?" She says nonchalantly as she closes her locker door. She swings her own backpack over her shoulders and starts walking. FP, of course, follows like a lost puppy.

"We did, and you were flirting with me in English class so I take that to mean it's a date."

"I was not!" She tries to hide the smile from forming on her lips but it's no use, he sees right through her cool composure.

"Whatever you say Smith." He says and she can't help but smile at the new nickname. "After you, Flashdance." He says as he opens the door for her. She doesn't respond, instead she just rolls her eyes, a smile apparent on her lips.

They walk out of the school and into the student parking lot. FP pulls his keys out of his pocket and unlocks the truck. He opens the passenger door for her and holds out his hand for her as she gets in, something he never did with any other girl. He shuts the door once she gets in and then walks back over to the driver side.

He starts the truck and pulls out of the parking lot.

⚜️

 

They make their way over to the Southside of town and park in front of FP's trailer. They decided to walk instead of drive so they could take their time and look around.

"Alright so this is Sunnyside trailer park, home to me and many others." He says. "This is my place."

"You live alone?" She says, a little shocked, but very intrigued.

"For the most part, yeah. My dad comes by every once in a while but he's usually out of town."

"I'd say give me a tour but I don't think that's a good idea." She says. It takes him a moment to catch on to what she's implying, but once he does his eyes grow wide and he blushes. She catches his expression and smiles at him.

He clears his throat, feeling his mouth go dry.  
"Uh well let's keep this tour going." He starts walking and she catches up beside him. They make small talk as they walk out of the trailer park.

They make their way around the Southside of town and FP shows her the nicer parts of town.

"Alright so this is the Whyte Wyrm, although I'm sure you know that." He says as the pass by the lot. She slaps his arm and they share a laugh.

As they continue to walk she moves closer to his side and reaches for his hand. Their fingers entwine with each other's and they both smile to themselves as they keep walking.

"Now this is one of my favourite spots in town, the Twilight drive in."

"I can see why. We didn't have a drive in in Greendale, just a small movie theatre."

"Well maybe we'll have to come here sometime." He says and she turns to face him with a smile.

"That sounds great." They both smile, almost awkwardly, at each other, their hands still holding one another's.

FP places his free hand on her cheek and runs his thumb across it as she smiles. He smiles back at her before leaning in slowly. She leans in too and their lips brush against one another's softly. It wasn't either of their first kiss, but it was by far the best one either of them had had.

It was like a spark was flying through them, and they could've sworn they felt fireworks within them.

They pull away and both of their cheeks grow hot as they share a smile.

"Do you want to go grab something to eat at Pop's?" He asks, hoping she'll say yes.

"I'd love to."

So they entwine their fingers again and make the short walk back to FP's trailer to get his truck. Then they drive back to the Northside.

They order some food and two milkshakes and make small talk as they wait.

"Alright, tell me something, because I've been curious about it ever since." He pauses to say thank you as their meals are brought to the table. "What made you want to join the Serpents?"

"My uncle was a part of them. Then he got a job offer that insisted he move so he had to leave the Serpents. But he always told me stories about them and I was always so intrigued. So when I found out we were moving here I just had to know what it was actually like."

"And your parents are just... cool with the fact that they're teenage daughter just joined a gang?"

She laughs and he smiles, loving he sound of her laugh. "Well they have their worries but my uncle is my moms brother so she knew about the life he lead with them, and he was pretty well respected around here. So she, albeit reluctantly, agreed. My dad on the other hand took a bit more convincing but here I am."

"Lord am I glad about that." They smile and talk some more as they finish their meals.

Once they're done FP pays, even with Alice's protests that they split the bill.

They walk outside and over to FP's truck.

He looks down at his watch and realizes it's getting late. She notices his face and reaches for his wrist so she can read his watch too.  
They both don't want to end the night so soon, but since there's school tomorrow and she has to be home at a reasonable time, they don't have much of a choice.

But that doesn't seem to stop them. She leans up against his truck and gestures for him to come closer to her. He places his hands on either side of her and she pulls him closer by the collar of his shirt. This time she's the one to initiate the kiss and he's quick to give in.

She had no intentions for this to just be some innocent kiss so it excites her when he slips his tongue in her mouth. She runs her hands though his hair as they kiss and then she feels his hands move down her back.

He finds the back of her thighs and picks her up, setting her on the hood of the truck. Their lips, and tongues, resume their places. He snakes his hand around her waist and pulls her closer to him and her hands find their way into his hair again.

They kiss hungrily, and they both think to themselves that it was a good parking place, since it's in the dark corner of the lot where no one can really see them.

Of course, they didn't really have any intentions of having a very steamy make out session on the hood of his truck in the parking lot of Pop's Chock-lit Shoppe, but neither of them are complaining.

They pull away and he presses his forehead against hers as they catch their breath. Never had either of them had a kiss that, literally, took their breath away.

"We should probably get you home." He says breathily. It's the first thing either of them have said in the last 10 minutes. She nods and he reaches for her hips to help her down off the hood of the car.

He drives her back home and, once again, walks her up to her front door.

"I had a really good night with you." She says as she places her hands on his shoulders.

"I did too." He has his hands on her hips and he lightly pulls her a little closer. "Maybe we could do this again sometime? I did say I'd take you to the drive in, so if you're free maybe we could do that Friday?"

"Can't wait." She smiles before leaning up to kiss him. It's a long, slow kiss, and it probably would've turned out exactly like the one at Pop's if they weren't on her front step. "Night FP." She says as she pulls away.

"Night Alice." He watches as she walks inside, and only walks back to his truck once she closes the door.

He gets in his truck and can't wipe the smile off of his face, and, for the first time ever, FP Jones realizes he's falling for someone.

A girl named Alice Smith.


	6. Stolen Kisses and Travelling Hands

Ever since he laid eyes on her he hasn't stopped thinking about her, and of course, the kiss they shared didn't help with that.

Now FP has kissed his fair share of girls but he must say this kiss with Alice was by far the best he's ever had. Alice can say the same.

Tonight's the night he's taking her to the drive in. Of course,they've been spending time together throughout the week and heavily flirting with one another throughout the school day. Like when he'd see her walking in the hallway he'd reach for her waist and pull her to him, giving her a long winded kiss before she went off to class. Or when English class rolled around and they'd slip each other suggestive notes. They snuck in kisses between classes, and even though they'd only met just days ago, they couldn't keep their hands off each other.

Now FP understands why Fred and Hermione are always making out at his locker.

It's FP's favourite time of day, English class, mainly because he gets to spend the entire period with Alice.

He's at his locker, grabbing his textbooks, when Alice comes up behind him. She leans up on her tippy toes and places a kiss behind his ear. "You ready?" She asks.

"Yep," he closes his locker and turns his body towards her. "I just need one more thing."

"What's that?" She asks, curiously. He answers her question by kissing her.

"That."

"You're a dork." She says, but she leans up to give him another kiss anyway. "Let's go."

They walk the halls to their English class and find their seats.

The teacher walks in shortly afterwards and begins the lesson.

About halfway through class a note gets tossed onto FP's desk. He smiles when he sees it, knowing exactly who it's from. He unfolds the paper and sees the unmistakable pink pen she always uses: Can't wait for tonight!

He smiles a little to himself before writing his own reply and tossing it to her: Me either. 

He watches out of the corner of his eye as she unfolds the paper, then she starts writing something else. Soon the paper is being tossed back to him: I'm all yours tonight.

He reads it and notices the underlines under "all yours", he turns to her and she just winks at him and bites her bottom lip before turning her attention back to the lesson.

He feels his cheeks grow hot at that and he too returns his focus to the lesson. But soon enough another note is tossed onto his desk.  
He unfolds it and his eyes grow wide as he reads her suggestive promises for the night.

He folds the paper up again and tucks it in his binder so no one else will be able to read it.

He turns to her and she flashes a smile at him before propping her head up on her hands.

Before they know it class is over, now it's lunch time, more time for them to spend together.

He grabs his binder and walks over to her desk beside his. She grabs her own books and holds them close to her best as they walk out of the classroom.

"Saw you were getting a little hot and bothered in there? You alright?" She says, smirking as she leans into his side.

"Very funny." He says, smiling as he puts an arm around her.

"You loved it."

"Not saying I didn't."

She walks to her locker to put away her books and he does the same. She comes up beside him a few moments later.

"Hermione and Fred coming?"

"Yeah they should be here soon." He says as he closes his locker door.

She slides under his arm and leans against his locker door. She smiles as she places her hands on the back of his neck and pulls him into a kiss.

They weren't even kissing long but it was enough for Fred and Hermione to see. They break apart once Fred clears his throat loudly.   
"Oh I'm sorry, did we interrupt?" Fred says, mockingly.

"You two are one to talk." FP says, laughing a little at the situation.

"Whatever. You two horn dogs ready for lunch?"

"Yeah, let's go." FP says. Alice slips her hands away from the back of his neck and FP reaches for one, entwining their fingers together.

They all walk to the cafeteria and buy their lunch, then sit at their regular table.

"I must say it's nice to finally have another person in the group." Fred says as he bites into his sandwich.

"Yeah nice to have another girl in the group, gets a little annoying being the only one." Hermione says.

"What are you talking about? Mary eats with us sometimes." FP says.

"Yeah but that's only sometimes. And she talks more to you and Fred anyway."

"Well we've been friends since Kindergarten."

"Who's Mary?" Alice asks.

"Mary Prince, good friend of Fred and I's. Redhead, very peppy." As if on cue Mary walks over to their table.

"And here she is now." Fred says, causing Mary to smile.

"You guys talking about me again?" She says as she sits down beside FP.

"Just informing Alice." He says as he gestures towards her.

"Oh!" She turns to look at Alice on the other side of FP and sticks her hand out. "Hi! I'm Mary Prince!"

She sticks out her own hand and smiles. "Alice Smith."

Mary catches the smirk on FP's face and clues in to what's going on between the two of them.   
She makes a mental note to bring it up to him later.

They all make conversation as they eat. All of them seeming to get along quite well. Alice has only just become a part of their friend group a mere three days ago, but even so they've accepted her in and it's like she was always there.

Halfway through lunch Alice gets caught up in a conversation with Hermione and Mary. She's a little caught off guard when FP rests his hand on her thigh. She pauses for a moment and then continues her conversation even as his hand moves higher up her thigh. She stumbles a little on her words as he trail his fingers higher up. That's when she reaches down to hold his hand to prevent him from moving up any higher.

It wouldn't be a big deal if she wasn't in the middle of a conversation with his friends, and besides they have all night together.

She leans over to whisper in his ear. "I told you... I'm all yours tonight." He smirks at her words and she kisses his cheeks before returning to her conversation.

She lets go of his hand and he moves it lower so it doesn't distract her. But she's still very aware of his grip on her thigh and she secretly loves it.

The bell rings soon after, indicating that lunch is over. They all throw out their trash and leave the cafeteria.

After he grabs his books for his next class, FP walks up to Alice's locker and leans up against the one beside hers.

She grabs her books out of her locker and shuts it before starting down the hallway, FP close beside her.


	7. The Drive-In

FP shares the last class of the day with Mary Prince. History, one of his least favourite subjects.

He takes his seat in the desk beside hers and she looks up from her notebook to give him a friendly smile.

"Alright spill." She says as she turns her body towards him.

"What?" He questions, laughing.

"Alice, I saw the way you were looking at her, you've never looked at anyone that way. So what are you two?"

"We haven't talked about that yet, it all just happened."

"When?"

"Well, I met her on Monday."

"Monday? And you're already this crazy about her!" She says excitedly, not even bothering to hide the grin on her face.

"She's great Mary, she's really great. I've never met anyone like her before. We just, we get along so well, and we have so much in common. It's like I've known her my whole life."

"I've never heard you talk about anyone like this. Ever! And I've known you since kindergarten."

"What do you think about her?"

"She's really nice, funny, pretty, very bold. Definitely your type of girl."

"She's incredible. Gosh." He says as he slumps back in his seat.

"It's nice seeing you finally admitting you have feelings." She says, causing him to laugh.

"We have a date tonight."

"A date?"

"Yeah, I took her for a little tour around the Southside the other day and I showed her the drive-in. Actually it's where we had our first kiss." He says with a fond smile. "Anyway, that's where we're going tonight."

"The drive-in? Nothing innocent ever happens at the drive-in, especially not with you."

"It's different with her Mary."

"Alright, alright, I believe you."

"I'm telling you, this girl, she's something else. I'm crazy about her and it hasn't even been a week."

"I can tell she's pretty crazy about you too."

"You think?"

"Are you completely oblivious? The way you two look at each other? No doubt there's something going on there." He smiles at the thought and then the teacher comes in, interrupting he and Mary's conversation.

The class went by surprisingly fast, probably because he was too focused on Alice, and what Mary had said.

The last bell of the day rang and FP went to his locker. It was finally time for his date with Alice.

He grabbed his bag and closed his locker.   
"What are you in such a rush for?" Fred said as he came up to his locker.

"I got that date with Alice tonight."

"Right. You think you're gonna get lucky?" Fred laughs as he says and FP smiles a little as he punches his shoulder lightly.

"Nah it's not like that with her. It's different this time."

"Hold on, what? Am I hearing that she might actually be the first serious relationship you ever have?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date." He says before walking down the hall to Alice's locker.  
He places a hand on her lower back as she packs up her bag.

"Hey." She smiles. She closes her locker and swings her bag over her shoulder.

They start walking out of the building and to his truck.

They decide to head over to Pop's Chocklit Shoppe for something to eat since the movie doesn't start for a bit.

"What movie are we going to see anyway?" She asks as she bites into a french fry.

"'Rebel Without A Cause', there's more after that if you want to stick around longer."

"I love that movie."

"Me too!"

"Good movie taste."

"What can I say, I'm a movie buff."

"Alright, other movies do you like?"

"Reservoir Dogs, Beetlejuice, Ferris Beullers Day Off, to name a few. What about you?"

"Pretty Woman-" She starts but stops once she hears his thoughts.

"Good movie."

"Really?" She says, sounding a little shocked.

"Don't sounds so surprised, it's a good movie."

"You just don't seem like type of guy who'd like Pretty Woman."

"Like I said, I'm a movie buff."

"Fair enough." She smiles at him. "Alright now I have a question."

"Okay?"

"What made you want to join the Serpents?"

"Well I've lived on the Southside my whole life, and my dad was a Serpent so I always grew up in the Serpent world. And as I got older I got more and more interested in it. Then my dad decided he wanted a better life for me so he got a job that required a lot of traveling, and it's kind of hard to travel a lot when you have a young kid. So he always tried to do local jobs. Then when I turned 15 he said that he was finally going to do the traveling his job requested. And since he was in tight with the Serpents he got them to keep an eye on me. And I don't know I guess it just kind of happened. I already knew all the Serpent laws since I saw so many initiations and then one day I just found myself going through the initiation. Now here I am."

"Do you regret anything?"

"No. Serpents are like family to me. What about you, regretting anything?"

"No. Well, not yet anyway. Maybe the fact that a certain someone saw my dance and won't let me live it down." She says, raising an eyebrow at him, a grin apparent on her lips.

"Now whoever could that be?" He smiles. She rolls her eyes at him and laughs a little.

They finish their meals but still continue to sit and talk for a while before leaving to go to the drive-in. They could have sat and talked all night if they didn't already have plans.

They find a spot at the drive in, since FP comes here so often he knows the best parking spots.

"Let's go get some popcorn and stuff before the movie starts." FP suggests.

They get out of the truck and walk, hand in hand, to the concession stand. They get popcorn, drinks and some candy, then they go back to his truck. "Perfect timing, movies about to start." He says as he gets into the truck.  
She smiles as she gets in, and even in the dark FP can see her beautiful smile.

They sit close, as the movie starts and a little while in FP's arm wraps around her. She scoots a little closer and leans into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He smiles to himself and continues focusing on the movie, all too aware of the beautiful girl in his arms.

They cuddle throughout the movie but neither of them make the first move to take it any farther.

The movie ends and that's when they look at each other again. It's FP who makes the first move as he leans in, kissing her lips softly. She kisses him back and turns her body a little more towards him.

They kiss a little harder as her hands move to his hair. She pulls back from the kiss and grins at him before moving to straddle his waist. His hands move to her hips in an instant and their lips find one another's again.

He deepens their kiss and squeezes her hips lightly. His hands move from her hips to travel further up, much to her delight. She breathes out heavily at the feeling of his hands on her and he moves to kiss her neck.

She makes a pleasurable noise when he kisses a certain spot on her neck, and he smiles against her skin when he realizes what it does to her. He moves his head to capture her lips again.   
She runs her hands down his chest until she finds his belt, his lips falter against hers when he feels her hands on his belt.

She smiles against his lips and he connects their lips again. His hands make their way to her hair as they kiss hungrily. She works his belt and soon has it off, along with the button and zipper of his jeans.

She pulls away with a smile, then kisses his lips softly before lowering to her knees in front of him.


	8. In a Booth at Pop's

Their date at the drive-in went better than planned. They get along so easily, it's easy to make conversation. It was no surprise that they had a good time. It was more of a surprise when Alice stayed true to the promises she wrote to him in English class.

But nothing further happened. He made a silent promise to himself that their first time would be special and not in the front seat of his truck.

Him and Fred are sitting in a booth at Pop's. No doubt Fred would be asking questions about it, and he was prepared to tell him just that.

"So how'd your date with Alice go last night?" Fred asks, taking a bite out of his burger.

"It was great, really great."

"Ah, did you get laid?"

"No. But we did plenty of other stuff if you know what I mean." He raises an eyebrow at Fred just to convey what he's saying and Fred laughs.

"I see." He says. "So nothing else happened at all?" Fred asks, a little confused.

"Nope."

"Must say I'm a little shocked. Usually you're always bragging about how you did some girl at the drive-in. What's different this time?"

"Everything," FP says, smiling to himself before continuing. "It's different with her this time, man. I'm telling you, she's something else. I've never met anyone like her." Fred smiles a little as he listens to FP talk. "I don't plan on having sex with her just for the sake of having sex, I want it to be special. It'd be special anyway, because it's her, but I want it to be extra special. You know?"

"Yeah I get it, I was the same way when me and Hermione started seeing each other."

"And now you two do it wherever and whenever."

"Oh please you and Alice can't keep your hands off of each other either, and it's been less than a week."

"Fair enough."

They're distracted when the bell above the door rings, indicating someone just walked in. They turn to see Hermione and Alice at the counter.   
"Oh ladies?" Fred calls, causing the two girls to turn. They smile when they see them and Fred gestures for them to come sit.

They finish ordering and then join the two boys in the booth. Alice sits on FP's lap momentarily and kisses his lips before sliding over into the spot beside him. He places an arm on the top of the seat, his fingertips just reaching her shoulder.

"So were you talking about us?" Hermione asks jokingly.

"Well actually we were talking about these two's date last night." Fred says. Alice's cheeks blush. She knows FP told Fred what they did, not a doubt in her mind, she had told Hermione what they did.

It's not that she's embarrassed or regrets anything, she's just not too keen on having to talk about it with even more people.

"Oh yes, I've heard lots about this date." Hermione says, earning a kick from Alice under the table.

"Oh really?" FP says with a cocky grin as he turns to Alice.

"I've got two milkshakes, one chocolate, one strawberry." Pop says, placing the milkshakes in front of the girls. Alice is grateful for the distraction.

"So you've been talking about our date, have you?" He says, smiling as he leans closer to her.  
She dips her finger into the whip-cream on her milkshake and swipes it across his nose.

"Calm down there babe, wouldn't want to get over excited." She says, giving him a wicked smile.

He sticks his tongue out at her, but smiles when he realizes he's met his match. She's just as stubborn as he is and it somehow makes him more attracted to her.

"Woah, woah, woah, what do you mean "over excited", spill your guts lady." Fred says, leaning over the table a little.

"No, no, not like that." She says before turning to him, running her finger across his cheek.. "Trust me, he has no issues with that."

He smiles and kisses all over her cheek, causing her to laugh, and lord how he loves her laugh.

"Come on you two, there's plenty of time for that later." Hermione teases, FP stops kissing her and leans back, but not before she can whisper suggestively in his ear.

He's never met someone who looks so innocent but can make him blush with just a few words.

Fred must have noticed the colour drain to his cheeks because he says something about it almost instantly. "Getting a little flustered over there FP?"

He doesn't answer just rolls his eyes and laughs a little. He leans in close to Alice and whispers in her ear. "You're evil." He says jokingly, causing her to smile.

"You love it." She says before kissing him. FP takes a sip of her milkshake as they all talk.   
Mary shows up a little while later and gladly joins her friends at the table.

They talk and laugh easily, the conversation running between all 5 of them in a booth at Pop's.

They can hardly remember what their group was like before Alice came along, it's like she was always there, and FP intends to keep it that way.


	9. Official

1 month later  
FP meant what he said, he wanted his first time with Alice to be special, and he intended to stay true to that. They had only met just under a month ago and they weren't even official yet. Although it was an unspoken truth that everyone at the school knew. 

It's not like they hid it, walking hand in hand through the halls, stopping one another for a quick kiss, or pulling each other into a supply closet in between classes. They were crazy about each other, had been since the first day they met, though neither of them would admit it. 

They've managed to go this long without an argument, which surprised them and their friends. It was no secret that both FP and Alice were stubborn as hell and incredibly stuck in their ways. 

Perhaps that's why they got along so well. 

But they were destined to clash at some point. 

That point came in the form of Gladys Knight, a girl who had carried a torch for FP throughout all the years she'd known him. 

He never so much as spared her glance in that way, he just never felt that way about her, and he'd known her since the 8th grade. 

But now she's in his 4th period class, Law with Ms. Chambers. He's been in the class for a month and still hates going. Law wasn't something he specifically wanted to take, especially being a Serpent and all, but he had to fill space on his timetable so here he is. 

He does have it with Fred and Hermione though, which makes it a little more bearable.  
They take their seats as the teacher begins the lesson.

"Alright so we have our first assignment. I'm going to be pairing you up with someone and you'll be completing the given project." She says, then she begins reading off the list of names. FP waits anxiously for their names to be called, hoping he'll be paired with either Fred or Hermione.

"Fred Andrews and Hermione Lodge." The teacher says, Fred and Hermione give each other smile and he squeezes her hand. 

"Of course they'd get each other" FP thinks.

"FP Jones and Gladys Knight." FP internally groans, knowing she has a major crush on him. Fred and Hermione turn to him with an equally sympathetic yet slightly worried look on their faces. They both know Alice isn't going to like this idea at all, FP knows it too. 

"This assignment is due one week from today, 10% deducted for every day it's late and I don't want to hear any excuses as to why it's late. Also no complaining about who you've been partnered up with, I don't care if it's an ex boyfriend or girlfriend or an enemy, you get who you get. You have the rest of class to work on it." 

"Good luck man." Fred says as FP stands up from his desk. 

"I'll need it." And with that he walks over to Gladys' desk, taking a seat in the empty one across from her. 

"Hey." He says awkwardly.

"Hey." She says, equally as awkward. 

"God I hate this class."

"Tell me about it. Worst one I have by far."

"I'll agree with you there." He groans. "What are we supposed to do anyway?"

"Essay on one of these topics." She says, sliding him a paper. He looks them over.

"I don't remember learning any of this."

"Neither do I, guess we'll make a great team then."

"Guess so." FP briefly wonders why he never did talk to her, it's easy, casual. He doesn't feel anything for her beyond that but he can admit to himself that she's attractive. Dark brown hair, cropped into bangs, dark eyes, she's definitely attractive. But she's nothing compared to Alice. Alice has got the long blonde waves, bright blue eyes, dimples that he notices every time she smiles or laughs, and lord how he loves her smile and laugh. 

The class goes by quickly, just like he hoped it would. He meets up with Hermione and Fred as they all walk out of class. 

"How was it?" Fred says, gesturing to his partnership with Gladys.

"Not that bad surprisingly."  
"Really?"

"Yeah, I was expecting it to be a lot worse. I mean I don't think we'll be talking ever again but it wasn't horrible."

"So does this mean we shouldn't tell Alice?"  
FP's about to say something but he's interrupted by the one person he was hoping wouldn't overhear.

"Tell me what?" Alice says, linking her arm with FP's.

"I-uh, nothing. It's nothing don't worry about it." FP says, hoping she'll just drop it, he knows her to well to actually believe that's true.

"Come on, tell me."

"FP's throwing a surprise party for you." Fred says without thinking, instantly regretting it.

"Why on Earth would he be doing that?"

"Your birthday."

"My birthday isn't until November, but nice try."

"Sorry man, I tried." Fred says before placing an arm around Hermione and leading her away from his locker so that FP and Alice can have a bit of privacy.

"Fred's even worse at lying than you are." She says, causing FP to chuckle.

"That's because I can't lie to you baby." He leans in and kisses her but she pulls away quickly.

"Nice try. Now what's going on?"

"It's not that big of a deal, Fred and Hermione are making it sound worse than it actually is."

"Well then just tell me."

Right before he's about to tell her, Gladys walks past them, smiling at him and giving a wave. Alice's catches onto her intentions right away and glares at her, Gladys' smile quickly fades and she looks away, noticeably walking a little quicker down the hall.

"What the hell was that?" Alice asks, her voice icy. She turns to FP, her expression cold. 

"It's nothing-"

"Is that what you were about to tell me about?"

"No," he says. She raises an eyebrow at him, giving him the glare she gave Gladys. "I mean yes, but it's not what it looks like."

"Then what's going on there?" She asks, crossing her arms over her chest. FP stumbles on his words, not knowing exactly what to say and how to start. There's nothing going on between him and Gladys, there never would be, he intends to tell Alice that, but for some reason he can't manage to get it out.

She laughs, a short sound out of disbelief. "You know what?" She says, her voice low with that icy tone again. "You come and find me when you can get your story straight." And with that she walks off to her locker. She grabs books she needs for her next class and takes a completely different way so not to have to pass him again. 

She's incredibly stubborn and petty so it doesn't shock him one bit. 

Fred and Hermione saw the whole thing and quickly walk over to him.

"Well that looks like it went horribly." Fred says.

"Yeah, what the hell did you say to her?" Hermione adds.

"Nothing." FP says.

"Nothing? What do you mean?" Fred says.

"I was about to tell her, I mean it really isn't that big of a deal. But just when I was about to Gladys walked by."

"Oh no."

"Yeah. She smiled and waved and Alice saw it. And then she was a little pissed off about it."

"Well yeah, you think she wouldn't be?" Hermione says, in a matter of fact tone.  
"I know, I know. Anyway she asked me what that was all about and I don't know the way she looked at me... she looked hurt and pissed at the same time. And I stumbled on my words a bit, then she told me to come and find her when I could get my story straight. That's when she stormed off."

"Good one, FP." Fred says sarcastically. "Now what are you going to do?"

"I have to talk to her."

"You're damn right you do." Hermione interjects. "I have this period with her, calculus with Mr. Wood, I can try and talk to her if you want?"

"Actually, what room are you guys in again? I always walk her there but I never pay attention to the room number."

"208."

"Alright, you go to class, try to convince her to actually leave with me when I get there?"

"Wait you're gonna come to our class?"

"Well not into your class, just outside. You'll see, just tell her to meet me."

"You really think telling her to do something is going to work? This is Alice we're talking about."

"Well no but it's worth a shot."

"Alright fine. I guess I'll see you soon." She kisses Fred before walking off to class.

"What are you planning to do?" Fred asks.

"Gonna show up, tell her what's up with Gladys, then hope she'll stop being mad at me."

"Alice is the most stubborn person I've met besides you, you really think she's just going to forgive you?"

"I have my ways." FP says before tarting down the hall.

"Alright, good luck. You'll need it."

"Thanks!" FP yells to him from down the hall.

He makes his way to room 208 and looks in the window of the door. Hermione notices him instantly and he points to Alice. Hermione nods and nudges Alice before pointing to the door. Alice looks but turns away a few moments later but he notices the impression on her face. 

Hermione gives her an almost puppy dog like look and he knows she's trying to reason with her. Alice turns to the door again and, with a roll of her eyes, raises her hand in the air. She says something to the teacher and he nods. He smiles triumphantly to himself when he sees her get up from her seat and walk over to the door. 

He steps back as she opens it. He doesn't say a word just smiles cockily at her as he takes her hand and walks down the hall, away from her classroom. 

He walks into an empty hallway, there's no one around, not a class in sight. She leans against the wall and crosses her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow at him as if telling him to speak.

"That was Gladys. Went to school together since the 8th grade. She's had a crush on me ever since, I've never spoken to her since the 8th grade. Until today. We got paired up in Law class on a project. There's nothing going on there, hell, she's not even a friend of mine."

"Promise?" She asks quietly. 

"You know I can't lie to you." He says, taking a small step closer to her. She smiles and looks down to try and hide it but he catches it. He places his finger under her chin so she'll look up at him.

"I hate the way she was looking at you. I wanted to knock her out." She says, clearly annoyed. 

"Is someone jealous?" He teases, laughing as she places her hands on his shoulders, pulling him closer to her.

"Just don't like people thinking they can flirt with my-" she pauses, not knowing exactly what he is to her.

"Boyfriend?" He questions, a grin on his face as he closes the last remaining distance between them.

"Boyfriend." She agrees with a nod.   
He smiles and she pulls him to her. He kisses her deeply, and she more than happily does the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that Gladys is a part of this story I thought I would tell you who I picture playing her. I think Neve Campbell would be so good in this role, plus she has a past history of working with Skeet! (Scream, The Craft.)


	10. “Serpent Business”

FP received a call around mid-afternoon one Saturday morning. On the other end of the line was Johnny "Viper" Torch, the current leader of the Serpent gang, telling him to get down here asap. When he asked why he was vaguely told "Serpent Business" and that it would be explained when he got down there.

He called Alice almost instantly and told her to get ready. Then he hopped in his truck and drove to her place. 

She was already waiting on the front steps, a cigarette dangling between her lips. She smiled when she saw him pull in and threw the cigarette on the ground, squishing it with the heel of her red stilettos. 

He got out of his truck to get a proper look at her. She had on tight black pants with holes in the knees and a sheer top that showed showed off her bra underneath. On her shoulders he recognized the leather of the Serpent jacket and damn she looked good in it. Her lips were a dark red colour and her blonde wave hung loose down her back. She was a vision. 

"How did you..." he says trailing off as he, once again, gets distracted by her. He had only notified her about the Serpent meeting 5 minutes before, there's no way she pulled this look off that quickly. 

"Viper called me about 15 minutes before you did." She explains. He nods as he looks her over again, loving the sight in front of him. "You like what you see?" She asks as she takes a step closer to him, their chests now touching. 

"Definitely." He places his hands firmly on her hips and leans down to kiss her. 

They got into his truck and started driving off to the the Whyte Wyrm. 

"You know at some point you're going to have no choice but to meet my parents right?" She says.

"I know, it's just I've never been a meet the parent type."

"How would you know? Has any girl ever brought you home?"

"One. An ex from a year back. But that was different, her parents already knew of me. It was just more of a formal introduction at that point."

"Well then let me be the first girl to take you home."

"I don't know Alice."

"Please?" She says, giving him a poppy dog like look. "For me?" She smirks as she runs her hand down his thigh.

"Alright fine. But only because you asked nicely and that's a rare occurrence."

"Thank you." She leaned over to kiss his cheek, leaving a lipstick stain on his skin. 

They pulled into the lot of the Whyte Wyrm and walked in hand in hand, like the Southside power duo they were quickly becoming. 

"Good you two are finally here." Tallboy says as soon as they walk in the door. "

"You know what this is about?" FP asks.

"Not a clue, should be finding out soon though, come on." He waved a hand and gestured for them to follow him. They all sat down at a table and ordered some drinks. 

"So Alice, how's Serpent life treating ya?" Tallboy asks.

"Pretty good, this is the first Serpent thing I've actually been asked to attend though."

"They usually like to ease newcomers into it. Don't worry, they'll be plenty more to follow." 

"Good." She smiles as she takes a sip of FP's beer. "Now if you'll excuse me I just have to run to the ladies room quickly." She places a quick kiss on FP's lips before walking off.

He and Tallboy continued talking until a pair of arms wrapped around FP's neck. For a moment he thought it was Alice but then he heard the voice that accompanied the arms. 

"You came... I'm glad." He cringes when he realizes it's Penny. His ex girlfriend.

"Viper asked so I came." FP stated.

"Did Viper also tell you I'm the reason this whole little get together was arranged?"

"What do you mean Penny?" FP really couldn't care less. He had broken up with Penny for a reason, she was manipulative, and he swore deep down she was pure evil. 

"I caught wind of a drug deal being arranged over in Greendale. Struck a deal with them and we're carrying out 3 cases over there tonight. Called the meeting to gather some Serpents to help with the job." she sat down in Alice's now empty seat beside him and moved uncomfortably close. "If you play your cards right maybe you and Tallboy could be one of the lucky ones to help out. Viper said if the job goes well he'll put in a good word for you two, maybe get you a higher up position."

Alice walked out of the bathroom just in time to see Penny's hand creeping up FP's leg. She walked over there in record speed, furious that this girl had the nerve to touch her boyfriend and also furious that Tallboy wasn't doing anything to stop her. FP on the other was wiggling away from her. 

"Penny cut it out, I have a girlfriend." FP said pushing her hands away from him.

"So? Never stopped you before." 

"It's different with her. Now leave me alone."   
Tallboy must have seen Alice approaching the table because he nearly choked on his beer. 

Alice walked up behind Penny, a bitchy smile plastered on her face. She tapped the girls shoulder and Penny turned around.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Alice said sharply.

Penny must not have caught on to who exactly Alice was. "Just getting reacquainted with FP here." She smiled and moved her hand up his chest. FP didn't bother to move her hands this time, he knew what was coming and it was going to be a hell of a lot worse than anything he could say or do. 

He smirked at Alice as she glared at Penny. 

Alice leaned down closer to Penny. "Get your grimy little hands off of my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Penny shakily said as she moved her hands away from FP.

"That's right." Alice said, crossing her arms over her chest. "If I see you lay another hand on him you're gonna be real sorry you did, got it?" Alice smiled wickedly at Penny as she stood up. 

FP looked at them and smirked as he took a sip of his beer, impressed that Alice wasn't afraid to call Penny out. People around here are always scared to call out Penny let alone threaten her, she could ruin your life in an instant and no one knew how. No one dared to cross her, but Alice wasn't afraid, and he loved that about her.

"Yeah I got it." Penny said calmly. When in reality she was livid, livid that FP met someone new and livid that Alice had the nerve to call her out. She wasn't scared of Alice but she also was a little worried at what she could do. She already had more guts than anyone she had ever met, and she knew she'd stay true to her threats. So she walked away without another word, making sure to brush her shoulder against Alice's.

"Who the hell was that?" Alice asked as she walked over to FP. He reached for her hips and pulled her onto his lap. 

"Remember I told you I've only met one girls parents?"

"Oh god it was hers?"

"Yep, worst mistake of my life. I swear the girl is pure evil, Satan's spawn."

"Agreed." Tallboy says.

"Well I want to knock her teeth in." Alice says as she reaches for FP's beer.

"Now that'd be an interesting fight. But I don't advise you to actually do it." Tallboy says.

"How come?" She curls an arm around FP's shoulder and listens to what Tallboy has to say.

"Penny has a way of making your life a living hell. No one knows why or how, but they don't want to find out. I'm telling you it's not worth it."

"Yeah baby, don't let her get to you." FP says, leaning in to plant a kiss on her neck.

"Well I don't like seeing people grope you the second I leave the room."

"I know that, but now that she knows she can get a rise out of you she's going to do it again."

"I'd like to see her try." Alice rolled her eyes and FP wrapped his arms around her waist tighter, pulling her closer to his body.

"Don't worry, I'm all yours." She smiles and he kissed her cheek.

He liked seeing the territorial side of Alice. Sure he had seen it when Gladys walked by, but this was new. He just wished she knew that he had no plans of straying from her, that he's happy right where he is. He hates that she feels threatened.

They hear the voices of Viper and some other Serpents and quickly file over to the stage.   
"Alright so I'm sure all of you have heard about the deal in Greendale by now. It's a big job and we're going to need a lot of handlers." He continues on expanding the job details and then says he'll be around to collect people soon.

"Viper says you have good potential baby, maybe you'll get your first task tonight." FP says as he reaches for Alice's waist.

"Well I hope so." She says before leaning up to kiss him. As his hands move lower down her body someone bumps into them. They pull away and see Penny.

"Oh I'm sorry? I didn't mean to interrupt." She says, smiling innocently.

"Oh I'm so sure-" Alice starts but FP steps in front of her before she can take it any further.

"What do you want Penny?" He asks, reaching behind him to keep Alice from coming at Penny just in case. 

Alice places a hand on his shoulder and listens intently, all the while glaring at Penny.

"You two are coming on the job." 

"What?"

"I recommended you and Tallboy for the job and Viper agreed. Now come on." 

"What about Alice?"

"Hm, Viper didn't say anything about her so I didn't mention it. Maybe next time." She gave a fake pouty face and walked away, leaving FP and Tallboy a little confused.

"Well I guess we gotta go." Tallboy said.

"You alright?" FP says as he turns to Alice.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just a drug run I'm sure there will be another."

"I don't want to leave you here all alone. You want a ride back home?"

"I'm fine, really, I'll just stick around and have a drink."

"Okay, I'll see you later." He places his hands on her cheeks and kisses her deeply before walking away, Tallboy following.

She reaches for Tallboy's arm and he turns to her. "Let me know if Penny tries anything." 

He laughs a little but answers anyway. "I'll try my best to make sure they're hardly together."

"Thanks Tallboy." He nods and walks away.  
She heads over to the bar.

"What can I get you, miss?" Hogeye, the bartender, asks.

"Tequila, straight up."

"Coming right up." 

She thinks back to what FP and Tallboy warned her about Penny, but as far as she's concerned if Penny wants to fight, she's ready. Especially if it's over FP.


	11. The First Time

The next Friday at school he sees her at her locker and starts walking over to her. They made plans early in the week to hang out tonight. "We still on for tonight?" He asks, putting an arm on the locker next to hers. She turns quickly, a little startled, but when she sees him she smiles softly.

"Definitely." She answers. He smiles to himself and walks behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek and neck.

"I was thinking of making dinner for you and I tonight. How does that sound?"

She laughs and turns around, her hands moving to his shoulders. "You're going to cook for me?" She gives him a look before continuing. "Can you even cook?"

He pretends to be hurt at the comment but laughs and answers truthfully. "Well no, but I'm willing to try."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Alright, you're on Jones." 

She turns back to her locker and grabs her books. She turns back to him and gives him a quick kiss before walking off to class.

 

⚜️

 

"Alright, I'm starving, you hungry?" He asks as they walk into his trailer.

"Starved." She says, he smiles and kisses her softly before reaching for her hand and walking to the kitchen. "So what exactly are you making?" She asks, curiously.

"Well I was trying to come up with something that I wouldn't completely mess up, so I was thinking spaghetti?"

She laughs a little. "Sounds great." She wraps her arms around him and kisses him before hoisting herself up onto the countertop.

He fills a pot with water and puts it on the stove.

"So any specific reason you wanted to make me dinner tonight?" She asks, raising an eyebrow at him.  
"No, just wanted to do something a little different tonight."

"Well I appreciate it," She says, puckering her lips for him to kiss her. "but you don't need to do anything special for me."

"I want to." His words cause her to smile.

They talk for a few more minutes before he turns to look at the pot of water on the stove. "Why isn't this boiling? It's been like, 10 minutes, and the water is still cold!" He says, genuinely confused. Then he hears Alice laughing. "What's so funny?" 

"Might help if you turned the stove on." She says, flipping on one of the burners. He looks down and smiles, a little embarrassed.

"What would I do without you?" 

"Probably die."

"Probably." 

They make conversation as he cooks and she likes watching him. She'll laugh if he messes something up, and he'll smile back at her, all the while blushing with embarrassment.

"Anything I can do to help?" She asks as she comes down from the counter.

"You want to do the sauce and I'll do the spaghetti?"

"Sure." 

She starts working on the sauce, but she can't get the jar open. 

"Could you help me out here?" She asks, laughing a little as she points to the jar. He opens it easily and hands it back to her.

After a minute or two she hears him making a lot of noises behind her, but she doesn't think anything of it until he says something.

"Baby?" He says.

"Yeah?" 

"What do I do?" 

She turns to him and sees the pot of water boiling over. She laughs and moves to where he is. 

"Just stir it and turn down the heat." She says, looking at him with a faint smile. He smiles back at her. "You want to switch? I can do this you take over the sauce?"

"No it's okay, don't worry, I got this." He says. She smiles and kisses his cheek before walking back to the other side of the kitchen.

After about 5 minutes he clears his throat to gain her attention. She turns to him and he looks down, laughing a little before looking back at her. 

"On the other hand, how does Pop's takeout sound?" He says. She looks at him a little confused.

"What happened?" She asks as through her laughs.

"Well..." he turns to the stove and points to the pot. She walks over and sees that he somehow managed to burn the spaghetti. 

She laughs as she turns to him. "How did you do that?"

"No idea, went to stir it and boom, it was burnt."

"Well, I think Pop's sounds great."

"I really wanted to make you something tonight, guess it didn't work out to well."

"Thank you." She says as she leans up on her tip toes to kiss him. 

It was the fact that he wanted to do something special for her, that's all that mattered to her. She didn't care that it didn't work out the way he had hoped and she didn't care that now they were going to be eating Pop's takeout. No one had ever gone out of their way to do something special for her, but FP wasn't just anybody. 

 

⚜️

 

"I didn't even know it was possible to burn spaghetti." He says as he puts some leftover Pop's takeout into the fridge.

"That makes two of us." 

They finish cleaning and then they go back to the living room. She sits down beside him on the couch, tucked in close to his side, his arm wrapped around her. She leans in to kiss him slowly as the radio plays faintly in the background. 

The song changes and he pulls back from their kiss to listen for a second. 

He gets up and walks over to the radio, leaving her sitting on the couch with a confused smile on her face. He turns it up and she hears the song, 'Unchained Melody' by the Righteous Brothers.

He extends a hand to her and she raises an eyebrow. "Dance with me?" He asks.

"Here?" It almost sounds like a protest but she stands up and walks over to him anyway.

"Why not? The perfect song, perfect girl." 

She smiles at him and places her hand in his, her other hand on his bicep. He holds onto her hand and wraps his arm around her waist. She smiles softly before laying her head against his chest. 

They sway slowly to the music and when he leans back she looks up at him. 

As the song nears the end he figures it's the right time to tell her just exactly how he feels.  
"Alice," he starts. "I love you." 

He means it, and it terrifies him. He's never felt this way about anyone before and he doesn't know if it's too early or if she'll even feel the same, he just knows it feels right.

She smiles at him and kisses him slowly. But it wasn't like any kiss they had ever shared before, it was a completely new feeling. 

As the song hit the final note he scooped her up into his arms and carried her down the hall to his bedroom, all the while still kissing her.

Their clothing fell to the floor in a matter of minutes and their kisses became longer and more passionate. 

She felt light as a feather underneath him and he was scared he was going to hurt her in some way. But she pulled his weight down onto her and he realized he was doing everything but hurting her. 

Their bodies tangled together as the moonlight danced across their skin, the light catching her golden hair. 

It wasn't the first time for either of them, but it was their first time together, and somehow it was fundamentally different this time for both of them. It was more gentle, more sweet, more... loving.

 

⚜️

 

Afterwards he held her close, her head laying on his chest, hearing the erratic beating of his heart. 

He drew shapes on her arms with his fingertips and she smiles against his skin. She ran her own fingertips up his chest. 

Then she leaned back, holding the sheet tight around her bare skin. She moved so her face was closer to his. "I love you too." She says. "I don't know why I didn't say it earlier, but I do... I really, really do." He smiles softly at her before kissing her slowly. 

It was an overwhelming feeling for both of them, they were in love. It was the first time he had ever felt that, first time he ever said that, but he meant it. 

If he was being honest with himself he felt something like that the first time he ever laid eyes on her. 

Maybe it wasn't love then, but it was more real than anything he had ever felt for someone before. He looks down at the beautiful blonde girl, falling asleep in his arms, and he can't help but smile. 

FP Jones has finally fallen in love.


	12. The Party

"Party at my place tonight, starts at 10, be there." Hermione says as she walks up to the group, entwining her arm with Fred's.

FP and Alice share a look and agree to come. "We'll be there!" FP says, on both he and Alice's behalf.

"Yay!" Hermione squeals, excitedly. "How about you, Fred?" She asks, even though she already knows the answer.

"You know it." He leans down to kiss her softly as they all make their way to the cafeteria. 

They get their lunch and sit down at their regular table with their trays. 

Mary walks up shortly after and sits down beside Hermione.

"Hey, what are we talking about?" She asks.

"Nothing in particular." Hermione answers. 

"But I'm having a party tonight, you coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Great, starts at 10. Do you want to help me set up beforehand?"

"Yeah, sure!" 

"Good, it's exhausting doing it by myself."

"I can help too." Fred says.

"I want you to save your energy for tonight." Hermione says and Fred's eyes grow so wide they look like they'll nearly pop out of his head.

 

⚜️

 

The last bell of the day rings out and FP walks to his locker, grabbing his backpack before hurrying down the hall to Alice. 

She doesn't notice he's approaching her so she lets out a loud gasp when he reaches for her hips. She spins around and hits his shoulder, playfully. 

"You scared me."

"Not my fault you weren't paying attention." He chuckles, she rolls her eyes and smiles as she turns back to her locker. 

He kisses her cheek and moves down, placing multiple kisses down her neck as far as he can reach from behind her.

"Save it for when we get back to your place." She says, stepping back to close her locker, in turn making FP step back a little.

She slings her backpack over her shoulder and starts walking down the hall. When FP doesn't follow right away she turns to him with a grin.

"You coming, Jones?" He nods and follows her quickly. Out in the school parking lot he opens the passenger side door and gestures for her to get in. 

She does so and he closes the door before walking over to the other side and getting in himself.

 

⚜️

 

When they get back to his trailer they immediately raid the liquor cabinet. Taking the half empty bottles of booze he steals from the Whyte Wyrm and shoving them into a backpack. 

Hermione never specifically said to 'bring your own booze' and they could've guessed their would be plenty to go around, but it's better to be safe then sorry. 

And besides, the booze from the Whyte Wyrm is their favourite, and they know for a fact that a Northsider like Hermione isn't going to have the hard liquor a Southsider would.

They both take a swig from a bottle of tequila before shoving it into the backpack along with a pack of cigarettes. 

FP zips the bag shut and places it by the door before turning back to Alice, who has now moved to the couch. 

"Does Hermione throw a good party?" She asks as FP sits down beside her.

"Not bad actually. House is a good size, never a real alcohol shortage, but mind you it's mainly whiskey and wine. Usually she has a good crowd that shows up. I mean it definitely doesn't compare to a Southside party, but it's always a good time nonetheless."

"Promise me one thing?" She says, quietly.

"Anything."

"Promise me you won't get sloshed tonight like you did at Tallboy's party a few weeks ago."

They had attended Tallboy's party a few weeks back and FP had gotten overly drunk and got in a fight with a visiting stranger. Alice had, understandably been mad, and he spent the entire walk back to his trailer trying to earn her forgiveness. 

Not shockingly, he earned it, as soon as they set foot in the trailer, she glared at him and he expected her to yell at him. So it was a surprise when instead she walked up and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him down to kiss him hard. They both know they can't stay mad at each other for long, they love each other too much to be mad.

"I promise. I'm still sorry about that."

"It's over with now, I just don't want it to happen again."

"It won't." He says and she nods.

"Now, where were we back at school?" She wonders, FP flashes a wicked smile and immediately resumes his kisses on her neck. 

He reaches for her hips and pulls her onto his lap. She places her hands on his cheeks and pulls him into a kiss. He kisses her back, deeply, and she moves her hands to his hair as he slips his tongue between her lips. 

She grinds her hips against his and he lets out an audible groan at the sensation. 

He kisses her again, harder this time, his fingers winding in her hair as she does it over and over again. 

Her hands travel down his chest and to his belt. She slides her hand down the front of FP's jeans and he gasps at the motion. 

A loud knock on the door interrupts them.

"Who would be here right now?" Alice says, annoyed as she moves off of FP's lap. 

"No clue." He stands up and does up his pants before walking over to window, equally as annoyed as Alice for the interruption. "It's Fred." He announces with a sigh.

"What a buzzkill." Alice says, rolling her eyes as she stands up to straighten out her short skirt.

"What's up man?" FP says when he opens the door, not hiding the annoyance in his voice.

"Wanna give me a ride to the party?" Fred asks.

"Sure, but the party isn't for another 6 hours."

"Well no one is at my place and Hermione and Mary are at her place setting up, so I thought I would come hang out with you."

"Alice is here too."

"Ah, so that's why you're wearing lipstick." Fred says as he steps inside. FP's cheeks grow hot and he quickly wipes his lips.

Fred walks farther into the trailer to see a breathless and untethered Alice.

"Shit, were you guys?-" Fred begins but FP cuts him off.

"Not anymore." FP says as he passes by him. "Make yourself at home, man." He says as he sits down beside Alice on the couch, placing his arm around her shoulder.

Fred takes the chair beside the couch and they turn on a movie to pass time.

 

⚜️

 

Ten o'clock rolls around painfully slow and they make their way into Hermione's house for the party.

"You guys came!" An already buzzed Hermione says as she walks up to them. 

"Of course we did." Fred says, smiling longingly at her.

"I love you guys so much." She says as she pulls each of them into a group hug. Hermione is very affectionate when she's drunk.

She grabs Fred's hand and walks off with him.  
"Well they didn't waste any time in ditching us." FP says with a laugh.

Alice pours some tequila into a solo cup and FP grabs a beer. They hide their bag of booze behind a curtain in the dining room and then Alice takes his hand and pulls him into the large living room. 

Hermione's house is large and she's pushed the couches against the wall to make more room in the living room. 

People are dancing suggestively and Alice and FP join in. Him behind her, his free hand on her waist as she dances against him.

Then she turns around and hooks an arm around his neck. 

She takes a sip out of her cup before leaning in to press their lips together. 

He pulls her closer to him, all the while still grinding against each other. He slips his tongue between her lips and tastes the bitter bite of tequila on her breath but he doesn't mind one bit.

 

⚜️

 

By twelve o'clock they're both drunk, but Alice notices FP is more intoxicated than her and she starts to worry he might be hitting the level she was worried about.

Alice hates when he's sloshed. She doesn't mind if he's buzzed or even a little drunk, hell, she's a little drunk herself. But when he's really drunk, that's when she doesn't like him. He gets mean and immature when drunk. 

"Maybe you should stick to pop or water for the rest of the night." She says, calmly, gesturing towards his beer.

"Why?" 

"Come on, FP, you know why! You're an asshole when you get drunk." 

His expression softens and he's about to answer when they're interrupted by one of his friends.

"FP! Is this your girl?" A man named Chris asks as he walks up to them, placing an arm around her shoulder. She grabs his hand, hard, and shoves his arm away. 

"Get your hands off of me." 

"Ooo shes a feisty one."

"The name's Alice."

"Mind if I talk to FP for a minute?"

"Be my guest." She gestures with her hand. 

FP leans over to kiss her cheek, "I'll be right back. I love you." He slurs and she can practically taste the alcohol on his breath. 

"Love you too." She responds, even as annoyed with him as she is.

She stands alone for a few minutes, looking around the party. Mary is around somewhere but she wasn't sure where, and Hermione is gone too, but Alice has a good guess where and who she's with.

Then she feels a tap on her shoulder and she turns to see a tall guy with brown hair and green eyes. "Hi, I'm Tom." He says, sticking out a hand.

"Alice." She extends her own and he shakes it with a smile.

"You here alone?"

"No, my boyfriend's over there." She points to FP and Tom nods.

"I'm not going to lie, I was hoping you were alone." He says, blushing a little, she laughs.

"Sorry to disappoint."

"Hey, I never said anything about being disappointed, just a little bummed that's all."  
She laughs and continues talking with him. 

As they talk he slides a hand over top of hers, just resting it there. Then out of nowhere FP storms over.

"Hey, what do you think your doing?" He says angrily.

"Pardon?"

"That's my girlfriend!" 

"FP, calm down." Alice says as she reaches for his arm.

"I don't know what you think you saw but we're just talking."

"Just talking? If so, why was your hand on hers?"

"I'm not gonna lie to you man, she's pretty, I was interested, but she said she had a boyfriend and I respected that. Don't read too much into it." Tom says and then rolls his eyes as he takes a sip of his drink.

Before anyone can stop him, FP grips Tom's collar and punches him.

"FP!" Alice scolds, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"What the hell man?" Tom says as he moves around his jaw, trying to get out the newfound pain. Some other guys who witness the punch walk over to Tom and escort him to the other side of the room away from FP.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Alice says angrily.

"He looked like he was hitting on you." FP says, looking almost, ashamed, at his actions. An expression never before seen on him until he got with Alice.

"Well he wasn't! God, FP, am I not allowed to talk to any guys besides you and Fred?"

"No, I'm sorry." He reaches for her and she steps back. "Please forgive me." He wraps his arms around her and kisses her cheek. She shoves him away.

"No! That isn't going to fix anything." She steps back, but his hand remains on her hip. "I told you not to get drunk like this tonight. You always do this, you cause a big scene and then I have to vouch for you." She looks into his heavy eyes and she can smell his alcohol ridden breath. He doesn't even look like he's truly sorry, he's only saying it because she's mad at him, and he hates when she's mad at him. She rolls her eyes and walks away.

"Where are you going?" He asks. 

She turns around, answering his question by simply saying. "Don't follow me." 

He knows she's serious when she says it, but he's so stubborn he's not going to listen, and she's so stubborn that she wouldn't come looking for him even after she stopped being mad. So he waits a minute and then chases after her.

He looks all around upstairs, looking inside bedrooms with no luck. Then he feels someone grab his arm and pull him around the corner. 

Found her.

"I told you not to follow me." She scolds. 

He smirks a little. "Then why did you pull me over?"

"Shut up." She knows he's right, but she can't stay mad at him, and he can't ever stay mad at her. 

"I'm sorry for punching that guy."

"You're serious?" She almost laughs as she says it, he just looks at her confused. "FP, that's not why I'm mad. I'm mad because you promised you wouldn't get like this tonight. You always do this. You get so drunk and then you become an asshole and start staying stupid shit and fighting with people. I hate it and-"

In an instant his lips were on hers, kissing her hard and deep. She pulls away quickly with a pissed off expression on her face.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Only way I know how to get you to stop talking." He watches her expression carefully, it grows softer and he runs his thumb across her cheek as he continues. "I hate fighting with you, Alice."

"I hate fighting with you too, but you really know how to piss me off." She huffs and he laughs, which in turn makes a small smirk crawl across her lips, even though she tries her best to stop it.

"Ditto."

She turns her head back to him and bites her lips to stifle a grin. He notices and grins himself. 

"I'm sorry, baby." He says lowly as he squeezes her hips.

"Me too." She places her hands on his shoulder, sliding up to run through his hair. 

"Let me make it up to you?" She says seductively, he raises an eyebrow at her. She hooks her leg over his hip just to convey what she really means by that. 

He responds almost instantly, colliding his lips to hers. She kisses him back hungrily, tasting the alcohol on their tongues. 

He reaches for her other thigh and lifts it to his hip, she tightens her legs around his waist and he pushes her harder against the wall as his hands snake underneath her skirt. 

She reaches for his belt, undoing it enough to expose him. And then he moved within her, and any thought of what they were fighting about just minutes before was pushed away.


	13. Meet The Parents

FP shuts his locker and turns to Fred, "You coming to SweetWater river right now?"

"Yeah I'm just waiting for Hermione, we'll meet you guys there."

"Alright, cool. See you guys soon." 

He walks down the hall to Alice's locker and wraps his arms around her waist. 

"Hey baby, you ready?" He asks as he kisses her cheek.

"Yeah." She says, grabbing her jacket and backpack. "Let's go." 

She closes her locker and turns to him, giving him a quick kiss before entering their fingers and making their way to the student parking lot. 

⚜️

They arrive at SweetWater river, a favourite hangout spot of theirs. The entire group, them, Fred, Hermione and Mary will come here and just hangout and talk for hours.

They pull some blankets out of the backseat and throw them into the bed of FP's truck. She hoists herself up into the bed of the truck and FP follows suit. 

"Are Fred and Hermione coming?" She asks as she slips on her jacket.

"Yeah, he said he's just waiting for her. They're gonna meet us."

"He really needs to get a car."

"True that." FP agrees with a laugh.

They make effortless small talk with each other and make out until they hear Hermione's car pull up. They pull away and look over the side of the truck. 

"Mary!" Alice announces happily when she sees the redhead get out of the car. "I thought you couldn't make it because you had to tutor?"

"They cancelled last minute so here I am!" The redhead explains, equally as happy. "Luckily I caught these two before they left."

"Well come on up here!" FP says to the newly arrived people. They pull some blankets out of the truck of Hermione's car, it's November after all and it's cold down by the river, then they all pile into the bed of FP's truck. 

FP leans against the side of the truck, Alice in between his legs, her back to his front. He has his arms around her, holding a blanket to them to keep warm.

Hermione and Fred are in a similar position, her more so sitting on his lap, snuggled into his side. 

Mary is in between the two couples sharing a blanket with Alice and FP.

"So do you think you failed the Chemistry test?" Hermione asks Alice.

"Well probably, I didn't study hardly at all."

"Partly my fault." FP says, causing them to laugh.

"That's true." Alice agrees, squeezing his hand. "How about you?"

"Same. Expect, I didn't even glance at my notes so I really flunked it."

"What a great team we make." Alice laughs.

They talk and laugh for another hour or two before deciding to head home for the day. 

Hermione, Fred and Mary leave first, Alice and FP leave soon after.

 

⚜️

FP pulls into Alice's driveway and walks her up to the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow?" He questions.

"Definitely." She smiles and he leans down to kiss her. She kisses him back, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. They pull away when the front door opens and Alice's dad walks out.

"Oh, sorry kids." He says. 

Alice's cheeks grow hot and FP cringes at the fact that her dad just saw them making out. 

"I just came out to grab the paper, didn't know you were back yet." He says as he reaches down to grab the newspaper.

"Dad this is-" Alice starts.

"FP Jones, sir." FP says as he sticks out his hand to greet her father.

"Nice to finally meet you. And please, call me Jake." FP nods and Alice smiles as she watches them interact. "Say, if you're not doing anything Julie is inside making dinner, you're welcome to stay if you'd like?"

"Yeah, I'd love to."

"Well come on in then." Her father says, gesturing towards the door. FP turns to Alice who is grinning behind him, she walks up to him and waits till her father has gone inside to kiss him deeply. 

"What was that for?" 

"Nothing, I just wanted to do that."

She hadn't been trying to hide their relationship from her parents, but FP, she knew, wasn't the most eager when it came to meeting parents. 

She takes his hand and leads him inside. It's the first time he's actually seeing he inside of her house. 

Usually he just sneaks in her bedroom window in the middle of the night and leaves in the early hours of the morning.

"Mom? There's someone I'd like you to meet." Alice says as they walk into the kitchen. 

Her mom turns and smiles when she sees the boy. "You must be FP?" Her mom says.

"I am." He smiles as he sticks out his hand.

She sticks out her own and introduces herself. "I'm Julie, nice to finally meet you."

"You too."

"I hope you're hungry, I always make too much food."

"I'm always hungry." He says, earning a laugh from the room.

After a little while dinner is finally ready and they sit down at the table to eat. 

"So FP, do you live here on the Southside as well?" Her mother asks.

"Yeah, I've lived here my whole life."

"So you must know about the Serpents then?" Her dad asks, Alice glances towards him, wondering what he was going to say. 

Her parents didn't have anything against the Serpents per se, they just worried about their daughter being a part of a gang, which Alice supposed was understandable.

"Uh, yeah I do. Actually I'm a Serpent myself." 

"You are?"

"Yes, have been for a few years now. My father was a big part of the gang and I grew up within them."

"Well it's a relief to know there's someone in the group we can trust to keep Alice safe." 

"Yes, make sure you take good care of our baby girl."

"Oh don't worry, I do." He says, squeezing the inside of her thigh. She squirms in her seat and her cheeks grow hot at the action. 

Luckily her parents don't catch on to what he really means, and they also don't seem to notice how she squirms in her seat. 

She grips his hand and squeezes gently and he tries to fight the smile threatening to form on his lips.

⚜️

"Dinner was great, thanks for having me." FP says as he puts on his jacket.

"Of course, you're welcome anytime." Her mom says and her dad agrees.

"It was nice to meet both of you."

"You as well."

"I'll walk you out." Alice says. 

They walk outside and he shuts the door behind them. When he turns back to her she hits his shoulder.

"What was that for?" He asks, laughing since he knows exactly what that was for.

"You know what that's for." 

"I don't know what you're talking about." He says, reaching for her hand as he starts walking to his truck.

"Whatever." He can practically hear the eye roll in her voice. "Hey, sorry for my dad kind of springing that on you." 

"Don't be, I actually had a good time. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"Yeah?" She places a hand on the back of his neck and pulls him closer to her. He moves his hands to her waist.

"Yeah." He closes the last remaining distance between them by finally connecting their lips. She groans into the kiss as her back comes in contact with his truck. His body presses closer to her as she slips her tongue between his lips. 

"Baby, I have to go." He says reluctantly as he pulls away from her lips.

"Not yet." She kisses him again and he moves to kiss her jawline. "I think I can sneak you into my bedroom right now without them noticing." She says, causing them to both laugh a little.

"As tempting as that is, I'll be seeing you tomorrow so we can continue this then."

"Fine." She says, rolling her eyes in a joking manner. He kisses her deeply once more before she steps away from his truck and turns to walk up the driveway.

"Hey!" He calls.

"Yeah?" She says, turning to face him again.

"I love you." He says with a grin as he gets into his truck.

"I love you too." She smiles.


	14. The Fredheads

He pulls up into the driveway beside her small house and walks up to the door.

After the first knock her mom answers the door with a smile. "FP! How nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too, Mrs. Smith."

"I'm assuming you're here for Alice." She says, laughing a little as she steps aside to let him in. "Alice, honey. FP is here!" 

Alice mumbles something about being down in a minute and he stands there awkwardly, not knowing what to say to her mom but feeling like he should say something.

He's about comment on the weather when he sees Alice at the top of the staircase.

Her mom smiles softly as she walks into the other room to give them some privacy.

"Hey." She smiles as she walks up to him and places a quick kiss on his lips.

"Hey baby. You ready?"

"Yeah, lets go."

They say their goodbyes to her parents and then he takes her hand and walks out to his truck. 

He opens the passenger side door for her and she thanks him as she gets in.

Once he gets into the drivers side of the truck she instantly leans over to capture his lips with her own.

He kisses her back instantly, gosh he loves kissing her. 

When she pulls away it's after a good minute or two and they're both left breathless.

"What was that for?" He asks with a devilish grin, he isn't complaining one bit.

"Nothing, I just missed you." She says. A wide smile on her lips as she pulls on her seatbelt.

"I missed you too babe." He says honestly.   
They had only been apart one day but it felt like an eternity. Every day without Alice Smith in his life felt like an eternity.

His hand comes to rest on her thigh as he drives to his trailer.

"What are we doing tonight?" She asks.

"I got Pop's takeout waiting for us at home."

"And this is why I love you." 

He laughs at that.

There are many reasons Alice Smith loves FP Jones, but his love for simplicity is one of her favourite things. 

She'd be content with just eating Pop's takeout and watching a movie in one of their living rooms over going to a fancy restaurant. And he knows that, and he feels the same.

"Geez what is he doing here?" FP groans as he pulls up to his trailer and sees Fred Andrews at the door.

"He's always here." She says, rolling her eyes.  
They both love Fred to death, he's one of her closest friends and FP's best friend. But man that boy has the most horrible timing.

He shows up randomly, which FP never minded before Alice became a permanent part of his life.

Now he seems to schedule his visits every time they're alone. Whether it be him crashing their movie night, or interrupting their antics in the bedroom. 

"Fred? What are you doing here man?" 

"We got a gig!" Fred yells.

"What?"

"We got a gig! We're playing the school dance!"

"You're joking?" FP questions.

"Nope, worked it out with Principal Dewey. And since Mary is on student council she put in a good word and we got it!"

"Sweet! The FredHeads finally got a gig!" He high fives Fred now at the same amount of excitement as him.

"I'm sorry, the FredHeads?" The sound of Alice's voice snaps them out of their celebration.

"Our band." Fred answers nonchalantly.

"Wait, what? You two have a band?" She's intrigued now.

"Yeah! FP never told you?"

"No, guess he forgot." She shoots him a glare and he sticks his tongue out at her, she's far from mad. "You guys any good?"

"You can find out for yourself if you want, we should probably start working on a set list anyway."

FP turns to Alice. "Up to you babe, band practice or Pop's?"

She ponders it for a moment, even though she knows what her answer will be.

"Band practice, I need to see this."

He laughs and starts walking over to his truck.  
"You heard the woman, band practice man."

"Give me a ride then. I walked here."

"Fine, hop in. But you seriously need to get a car, I'm tired of hauling your ass around everywhere." FP jokes.

He gets into the truck and Alice sits in the middle between him and Fred.

⚜️

When they arrive at Fred's house he hops out and practically runs over to his garage to open it.

FP looks over at Alice, neither of them making the same effort to rush out of the truck.

"So how come you never told me you and Fred have a band?"

"Never crossed my mind. It was always just something we did for fun, no one ever actually wanted to book us. We're not that great." He says, laughing a little.

"I'm sure you're great, baby." She says, leaning over to kiss his cheek, leaving a stain on his skin from what's left of her lipstick. "You're a rockstar."

"Well I'm partly there." He says, placing a hand on her thigh. "I got the band, a guitar, and a super hot lady."

She smiles and her nose scrunches up a little causing him to smile. He always finds it cute and endearing when her nose scrunches when she smiles.

She leans in to kiss him and he kisses her back instantly. Her hands run through his hair and his tongue snakes it's way into her mouth.  
They make out for a solid minute or two until Fred taps on the window, interrupting them.

"Come on you horn dogs, lets go."

They laugh as he walks away and then he leans in to kiss her once more. 

She bites his bottom lip softly when he pulls away. "Make sure he doesn't come back with us, I got plans for you tonight." She says suggestively before kissing him once more. 

Then she hops out of the truck with a smirk on her lips, leaving a breathless and slightly dishevelled FP behind in the truck.

He gets out and chases after her, scooping her hand up into his as they walk up the driveway to Fred's garage. 

"Here you go, best seat in the house." FP says as he pulls up a stool for her. She thanks him and watches as he and Fred plug in their guitars.

"What should we start with?" Fred asks.  
They play through some songs they know and Alice watches and listens with a grin on her lips. There's something so sexy about FP in a band, she can't put her finger on it because when she first heard that they were in a band she thought it sounded ridiculous. But now, seeing him playing guitar and enjoying himself, she's finds it incredibly attractive.

"Okay now this is one of our new ones so bear with us." FP says to Alice.

"You guys wrote this one?"

"FP did." Fred answers. "It may or may not be about you." He says, laughing a little as FP's cheeks grow slightly red.

"Ooo I'm intrigued now." She says, genuinely excited.

FP winks at her and they start playing their song.

She can't make out the words over the sounds of their guitars, but from what she can make out of the lyrics makes her love FP even more.

They talk about a blonde girl, from the wrong side of the tracks, and how in love this guy, who she realizes is FP, is with her.

It's not the best song ever, they can all admit that, but to Alice it's Grammy worthy. 

When they finish the song she applauds them, standing up from her seat to give them a one-woman standing ovation.

"What'd you think?" FP asks as he sets his guitar down.

"I loved it." She says with a wide smile. FP walks over to her, his smile matching hers.

"Yeah?"

She nods. "And I love you." She says, still smiling like a lovesick fool. 

She places her hands on the back of his neck and leans up to kiss him. He wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her back.

"I love you too." He says between kisses. She smiles against his lips as she kisses him and the feeling makes his heart flutter.

Fred makes a gagging sound from across the room, causing the two to break their kiss and laugh.

He loves the sound of her laugh and when she turns back to him, the dimples on her cheeks prominent from her smile, he feels his heart flutter. 

Alice Smith has his heart and he wouldn't have it any other way.


	15. The Blue and Gold

"Guess what?" Alice says excitedly as she walks up to FP's locker. 

"What?" He smiles at her level of excitement, finding it adorable.

"I talked to Mr. Dewey and he agreed to let me start the school newspaper up again!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! It's become practically nothing over the years and he named me head of the paper to bring it back!"

"That's great, baby! Congrats." He says, leaning down to give her a congratulatory kiss.

"He said he has a few other people he knows will join so I already have a team to help." He smiles as she continues on, he knows how much she loves writing and journalism so he's more than happy to listen to her.

"But I do have some bad news." 

"What's that?"

"First meeting is at lunch today so I'm gonna have to cancel our lunch."

"That's fine, this is way more important than having lunch with me and our friends."

"So you'll tell them why I'm not there then? You don't think they'll be mad?"

"Of course not. I'll tell them and I'm sure they'll be just as happy for you as I am."

"You're the best." She says as she wraps her arms around him, hugging him tight. "I love you."

"I love you too." He places his finger underneath her chin to tilt her face upwards and he catches her lips in a kiss.

"Alright, I have to go before I'm late for class but I'll see you after lunch?"

"Definitely." 

She smiles and kisses him once more before walking off to her next class.

⚜️

Mr. Dewey was true to his word and found some people willing to help with the paper. She sits and listens to him talk about what the expectations are, deadlines, and other stuff she's heard before at her last school.

She was editor in chief at Greendale high's school newspaper, 'The Green and White', so she knows this is going to be a piece of cake.

"Okay now I'm going to do a role call just to make sure everyone who said they would be here, is." Mr. Dewey takes out a notepad and pen and starts reading off names, checking them off one by one.

"Melinda McCauley?"

"Here." 

"Hal Cooper?" When no one answers he looks around the room. "No Hal? That's a surprise."

"I'm here! I'm here, sorry I'm late." A blonde boy suddenly rushes into the room, breathless.

"Ah, Mr. Cooper, you're late."

"Sorry sir, practice went a little late."

"Fine, take a seat. You best not be late again, that doesn't look good on college applications."

"I surely won't." Hal takes a look around the room before his eyes stop on Alice, looking her up and down. 

She hasn't paid him much attention since he busted into the room, finding the disturbance irritating. 

He walks over to the desk beside hers. "Is this seat taken?" He asks, flirtatiously, flashing her a pearly white smile that makes her a little uneasy.

"Obviously not." Her tone is annoyed and she watches his smile fade before turning her attention away from him.

After role call they all get assigned to different tasks, Alice gets put on article duty for now. 

When the first issue of the paper comes out she'll be put officially in charge so long as the paper is a hit, which she has no doubt that it will be.

Hal is the other person out on article duty and their first task is to write up a summary of the schools football game against Southside High.   
She remembers attending that game with FP, both of them feeling guilty as they rooted for the Southside even though they were there to support Fred. Which they did. 

Southside High had one by an unexpected touchdown in the final 30 seconds. When Fred came sulking off the field they showed their support for their friend even though they were secretly happy their own side of town had won the game.

Hal summarizes the entire game for her, not bothering to ask if she had actually seen the game just assuming that a pretty girl like herself wouldn't have bothered. 

He especially shined a light on his own performance in the game, talking about all the touchdowns he scored for the team even though Alice knew it was a complete lie since she had seen him play.

She suffered through the hour long meeting, ready to knock Hal's cocky self out by the end of it. 

When the bell rang she grabbed her notebook and pen and walked to the door without another word. 

Hal caught up to her quickly. "Hey, Alice is it?" 

She rolls her eyes before turning to face him.  
"Yeah, that's me."

"I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie tonight at Sparkle Theatre, say 9ish?"  
She laughs a little at the name of the theatre but she quickly straightens herself out before he catches on. 

"Thanks for the offer but I actually have a boyfriend."

"Aw that's too bad." He says, giving her a pouty face. She wants to slap it off of him. "Is it serious?"

She can't even believe he would ask such a thing, so she rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. 

"Yes it's serious, you asshole. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go."

She walked out of the room before he could say anything else and instantly bumps into someone. 

"Oh, sorry." When she looks up she sees that it's FP she bumped into. "Oh hey, what are you doing here?"

"Came to meet you."

She smiles and leans up to kiss him, he kisses her back but she can tell something is bothering him. 

"You alright baby?"

"Yeah, just not fond of guys asking out my girlfriend is all."

"Oh Hal? Trust me he's on my last nerve and I just met him today. But don't worry, I made it clear that I have a boyfriend who I happen to be crazy about."

"I know, it's just... god he gets on my nerves, you know?"

"I know."

"Sorry, I probably sound like a jerk." He turns away from her and she smirks a little at the fact that he's jealous.

"No, you don't, you're not." She places her finger on his jaw and turns his face back to her. "I only have eyes for you, I promise. Okay?"

"Okay." 

"I love you." 

"I love you too." He says, finally breaking a smile.

"There's my man." She says, leaning up to kiss the smile on his lips. 

He takes her hand and starts walking to their lockers. 

"Oh I almost forgot, he wouldn't stop bragging about how he got so many touchdowns for the team, even though I was there and know he was actually useless."

"He's really full of himself isn't he? Loser."

She laughs as she leans into his side. 

Nothing Hal could say could convince her to leave FP. Not a thing.


	16. A Night to Remember

The school dance is tonight, never something FP would have even considered going to until he met Alice. 

He dressed up in his nicest clothes, a white dress shirt and a pair of his nicest dark jeans. It's nothing special but it's the best he can do with what he has.

The theme is a night to remember, and little does FP or Alice know that it surely will be a night they'll remember.

Mary Andrews is in charge of the whole thing which is partly how he and Fred scored their gig playing the dance.

He's on his way to get Alice now, he had picked a daisy on his way out, knowing it's her favourite flower. It's not much but he knows Alice isn't all about the extravagant gifts. 

She would've been just fine staying home, curled up with him on the couch watching movies and eating Pop's takeout. But since he's playing the dance with Fred he has to go and Alice was more than happy to be his date.

He pulls up outside of the Smith house and looks in the mirror one more time before walking up the steps to the front door. Her mother opens the door after he knocks and she smiles upon seeing him.

"Well, FP I must say you look very handsome tonight." She says, a hint of shock in her voice that she quickly conceals.

"Thank you Mrs. Smith." 

"I told you, call me Julie." He smiles and she turns towards the stairs. "Alice, honey, FP is here." 

He hears her bedroom door open and soon enough Alice is at the top of the stairs. Just a glance at her and his breath is already taken away. She's stunning. 

He watches her every move and drinks in her appearance when she stands in front of him.  
Her dress is a dark navy blue, long sleeeved and cutting just above her knees. Her wavy blonde hair hangs over her shoulders. She looks incredible.

"You look beautiful." He comments, still marvelling at her.

She hadn't done much but FP makes her feel like she's the most gorgeous thing on the planet.

"Thank you." She smiles, her cheeks blushing slightly. "You look great, I didn't even know you owned a dress shirt."

"Neither did I, I found it in the back of my closet." He says causing her to laugh and he smiles at the sound. "Oh also, this is for you." He hands her the daisy and she smiles that gorgeous smile of hers.

"It's beautiful, thank you." She kisses his cheek and smiles brightly at him. "I just have to go grab my coat and then we can go."

He nods and watches as she walks back upstairs. He takes a moment to catch his breath, not realizing he had been holding it in since he saw her.

When she comes back she takes his hand in hers and says a quick goodbye to her parents before walking out the door.

He opens up her door for her and she gets in, smiling at the adorably cheesy gesture. 

"You look incredible." He says honestly, and he'll probably tell her so a million times tonight, but it's the truth nonetheless.

"So do you." She places her palm on his cheek as she leans over to kiss him. 

 

⚜️

They walk into the gymnasium hand in hand and are instantly found by Fred and Hermione. 

"You two look so good." Hermione says, it almost sounds like she's shock but Alice doesn't think much of it.

Hermione has on a lilac coloured dress and Fred's wearing a white tux. They look like the ideal perfect Northside couple.

Their conversation is cut short by Mary running up and telling Fred and FP its time to get set up.

FP turns to Alice with a bit of a frown. 

"You'll be great baby!" She says, squeezing his arm for reassurance. He smiles that crooked smile of his and kisses her deeply before Fred pulls him away.

The first song they play is the one FP wrote for Alice, and he makes sure it's known.

"This one is dedicated to my girl, you know who you are baby." He winks in Alice's direction and he and Fred begin the song.

Alice's smile is wide the entire time.

The next few songs she spends dancing and chatting with Hermione and Mary, that is until Hal interrupts.

"Alice?" He taps her shoulder and she spins around to face him.

"Oh... hi Hal."

"Do you want to dance?"

"No thanks."

"Come on, Alice. Just one dance." 

She's about to protest but Hal has already pulled her onto the dance floor.

His hand comes to rest around her waist, pulling her close to him. 

She sways awkwardly, not wanting to cause a scene but wanting to go back to where she was. 

She can smell the faintness of alcohol on Hal's breath and it makes her feel even more uneasy.

FP can see her from his spot on stage and he can see how uncomfortable she looks. Fred seems to notice too as he gives FP a look.

When the song is over FP hands Fred his guitar and rushes down the stairs and over to Alice. 

He shoves Hal away and reaches for Alice. "You stay the hell away from her." He warns before turning his attention to Alice. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just a little creeped out. Don't worry." She leans up to kiss him but the sound of Hal's laughing catches both of their attention.

"What's so funny, Coop?" FP says as calmly as possible, trying to keep his cool for Alice's sake but wanting nothing more than to punch his lights out.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all." His glance moves downwards to where FP has his fist clenched. "Do you wanna hit me, Jones? You got your fists clenched pretty tight so why don't you just do it... hit me."

"Baby don't let him get to you, that's what he wants." Alice says clams as she reaches down and unclenches his fist, entwining her fingers with his instead.

"I'm not gonna fight you, Hal." 

"Coward." 

And with that FP quickly steps towards him, but Alice's tight grip on his arm is enough to keep him anchored not to hit Hal.

Hal steps forward as well and someone in the crowd shouts at them.

"Break it up you two. No one wants blood on the dance floor."

"Good idea. What do you say Jones? Finish this outside?"

"FP, don't." Alice says, practically begging him not to go out and fight with Hal.

He turns to her and sees the worry in her eyes. "Don't worry," he says as he kisses her softly. "I'm not going to hurt him or hurt myself, I just want to talk."

And with that he lets go of Alice's hand and gestures towards the gym doors.

With one last glance at Alice he sees the panic on her face. And even though the sight breaks him inside he refuses to let people think he's weak, so he follows Hal outside without another glance back.

Fred rushes down from the stage when he sees Alice heading in the direction of the doors as well. He's hot on her heels and manages to grab her before she can get outside.

"Alice don't go out there."

"Why not? Hal's going to beat my boyfriend to a pulp and what? I'm just supposed to stay in here while it happens? Not happening, Fred. I'm going out there." 

She wiggles out of Fred's grip and pushes open the door. Fred grabs her again once she's outside, knowing that if anything is to happen to FP she'll make a run for it over to him to make sure he's okay, and he knows FP would be more upset about Alice getting hurt over him. 

If he hadn't grabbed her she would've marched right over to where FP is. 

So he holds her to him as she struggles to get out of his grip and over to FP who's getting a severe mouthful from Hal.

"You really think you're something special, don't you Jones? You think you can give her a life? The bad boy type is always appealing until they eventually realize that's all there is. Just a dead end criminal... Southside trash." 

"Shut up, Hal."

"You're not good enough for her and she'll realize it eventually. She needs someone from the Northside, someone who can actually give her the life she deserves. Plus, a freaky little Southside girl like her? Every boy's dream."

The way they talk about her makes him want to knock him out, but he knows Alice hates when he fights, even if it's over her... especially if it's over her. So he keeps his cool but his fists clench tightly.

"Leave her out of this, Coop."

"Why? She's just a piece of Southside trash like you, why does it matter what we say?"

That's the last straw as he rushes up to Hal, wanting to defend his girl and not really caring anymore. Hal deserves whatever comes to him.

He doesn't plan to hit him, he wants to, but Alice is still in the back of his mind. 

Hal however doesn't have the same idea and punches FP square in the nose and gives him a hard shove to the ground. 

FP vaguely registers a high pitched squeal as he hits the ground. Hal spits on the ground beside him, muttering "Southside trash" as he does.

When FP fell to the ground Alice let out a squeal and flailed around in Fred's arms. Only succeeding in getting out of his grip when he loosened his arms as he watched Hal step away. 

She's by his side in an instant, her dress being ruined and her knees being scratched by the pavement but she couldn't care less. "Baby, are you okay?" She asks as she places her hand on his cheek, turning his face towards her.

"Sweetheart stop wasting your time with lowlife bikers and come get yourself a real man." One of Hal's friends shout as she kneels by FP's side.

"Shut up!" She snaps back, angrily.

Fred tells them all to get lost and FP stands up as the crowd walks out.

"You should just go back inside, Alice." He says as he wipes the blood from his nose. 

"Not without you, lets just go home and get you cleaned up. Forget about the dance-"

"Alice, stop! They're right, you shouldn't waste your time with a lowlife biker like me."

"They're just getting in your head, don't listen to them. I want to be with you, I would have left a long time ago if I hadn't. I love you."

"Alice-" he starts but she refuses to hear him out.

"No, I'm not going anywhere."

"Fine, then I will."

And with that he starts walking away, even though she's yelling his name to come back. She's practically screaming his name as tears start streaming steadily down her cheeks. 

Fred is the first to go over to her since he saw the whole thing go down. 

He grabs her and hugs her. She buries her head in his chest as she cries, angry that he left her and worried that he's going to get himself hurt.

"Calm down. He'll be okay, everything will be okay. I'll go talk to him." Fred says, hoping that'll calm her down a bit.

She nods and wipes her tears. He squeezes her arm for comfort and then starts walking in the same direction FP left.

Hermione and Mary, who had both watched the whole thing from inside go over to her to comfort her. 

"Do you want me to take you home?"

"No, lets start your party early. I need a drink."


	17. Drunken Kisses

Everyone at the dance leaves to attend Hermione's after dance party. 

Alice is halfway through a bottle of tequila and she's on her way to achieving her goal: getting drunk enough that she forgets about how shitty this, supposed to be perfect, night became.

Hermione is playing hostess downstairs and dancing, Mary is nursing a drink Hermione made for her, Fred is off somewhere looking for FP, and FP is god only knows where.

Alice walks upstairs, tipsy enough that she stumbles a bit but not tipsy enough to be unaware of her actions.

She walks into Hermione's bedroom for a moment of piece and quiet, and shuts the door partly behind her.

She sits on the end of her bed and runs her fingers through her hair, the bottle of tequila in her other hand. 

She sighs heavily as she thinks about FP and she realizes she'd rather be looking for him and making sure he's okay rather than getting drunk at some party.

But right as she's about to leave someone walks into the room. She rolls her eyes with a heavy sigh when she sees Hal.

"Alice? Can we talk for a moment?" 

"Haven't you done enough? Punching my boyfriend, causing him to leave without telling anyone where he's going."

"That's what I wanted to talk about, I'm sorry for all of that."

"You should be." She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. "Now is that all? Because I have to go look for my boyfriend."

"Alice, come on, be realistic. You're destined for greatness, I can tell. You're not going to get anywhere dating a guy like him."

"A guy like him? You mean someone who actually loves and cares about me? He may be from the Southside but you can get it out of your head that we're all bad, we're not." She practically yells back at him.

"Alright, alright, fine. You're not all bad... I'm sorry, just calm down." He places his hand on her arm and she shoves it away.

"Don't touch me." 

"Sorry," he says, putting his hands up in defence. "I really am, Alice. For everything... fighting FP and in turn making you sad." She raises an eyebrow at him, not buying his apology entirely. "Where is FP anyway?"

"He and I got in a bit of a fight after you and your dumbass friends got in his head. He told me to go back inside and stop wasting my time with him, when I refused he walked off."

"Well that's not very nice."

"I get it though, he's upset."

"Still, he shouldn't have just left you, that's not what a good boyfriend would do. You deserve someone who will always stay with you, always take care of you, never ditch you..." 

She stares at him with a weird expression on her face and before she can even comprehend what's happening, before she can stop it, he's leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. 

She can taste the alcohol on his breath as he slips his tongue between her lips and it makes her sick. 

She places her hands on his chest to shove him away but before she can the sound of a familiar voice cuts through the room.

"What the hell is going on in here?" 

She jerks her head back quickly to look over at the door where FP is standing, watching the two of them angrily.

"FP! It's not what I look like I swear!" She pushes away from Hal and rushes over to the doorway.

FP just sighs and walks away, she goes to chase after him but Hal stops her.

"Alice don't, he's not-"

"Back the hell away, Hal." And with that she shoves him away and rushes off in the direction of FP.

When she makes it downstairs she hears the door slam and a stunned Fred stands at the bottom of the staircase.

"What the hell happened up there?" 

"No time to explain I have to catch up to him, I'll tell you later!" She grabs her coat from the closet and leans up to kiss Fred's cheek. 

"Thanks for finding him."

He smiles at her in response as she disappears out the door.

⚜️

She catches up to him eventually as they get closer to his trailer.

"FP!" She calls but he ignores her. "Jesus, would you just slow down and talk to me." She says as she grabs his arms and turns him to look at her.

"Talk about what, Alice? About how Fred came and found me and told me that you were upset and brought me to Hermione's party to find you." He walks up the steps to his trailer door, Alice hot on his heels. "Or how about when I did find you and I saw you kissing Hal Cooper?" She walks in the door behind him and slams it shut to gather his attention.

"You're impossible you know that?" She yells at him.

"I'm impossible?"

"Mhm, I'm trying to talk to you reasonably about all of this but all you want to do is yell."

"What am I supposed to do, Alice? Hal and his jackass friends got in my head and I said some shit I didn't mean to you, I wanted to find you and apologize but instead I find you drunk at a party."

"Look I was mad at you, and I got drunk and I made a mistake that wasn't even my fault. How come your the only one who's allowed to screw up, huh?"

"You just had to kiss that Cooper kid didn't you? You know the torch he carries for you, what were you trying to do hurt me?"

"No you idiot, I love you. I know how it looked but I swear it wasn't what it looked like, he kissed me."

"Lamest excuse in the book, Alice."

"I'm telling you the truth, FP. You saw how tipsy he was at the dance he's way past drunk now and he kissed me before I could stop him."

"Whatever, maybe you would be better off with Northside royalty like him."

"Are you kidding me? You think I want to be with him? I can't stand him. I want you, FP. I love you."

"Well you had a funny way of showing it tonight."

"Jesus, I fucked up alright? I can admit that."

"Damn right."

"Oh my god, you know what? I'm done fighting with you. I made a mistake, and I'm willing to work past it with you, because I love you and want to be with you and only you." She stares at him, looking for any sign of regret on his face. "But if you can't accept that or even try to talk through it with me then maybe we should just take a break."

"A break?" 

"Yep." She says as she pulls on her jacket. "Call me when you get over yourself." And with that she walks out of his trailer, slamming the door behind her.

He's too stubborn to chase after her even though that's what he wants to do, but he knows that's exactly what she wants. 

She's too stubborn to turn back and get him to talk to her, but they both know they can't go on for long without each other and hopefully they'll realize it soon.


	18. Jealous

2 days later and he still hasn't called and neither had she. 

Both of them were too damn stubborn for their own good and both of them are waiting for the other to break first.

FP hardly even looked at her during English class and she returned the favour, listening intently to whatever the teacher was talking about and ignoring his existence entirely.

She knows it's going to take more than just ignoring him to get him to crack, she just needs to find the perfect way to get him to break.

"Has he called yet?" Hermione asks as they walk to the cafeteria.

"Not yet."

"I can try and talk to him if you want? I'm sure I can get him to call you." Mary suggests.

"Don't worry about it. He'll call, I know he will. We can't stay away from each other for long, it's just a matter of time until he caves." She turns and sees him down the hall, he turns at the same time and they lock eyes. She raises an eyebrow at him before turning back to Mary and Hermione. "Don't worry, we'll be good as new soon."

⚜️

They make their way to the cafeteria and FP and Fred sit a take ahead of them, FP on the opposite side of the booth where Alice has a perfect view of him.

They aren't sitting long when Hal comes up to her.

"Hey Alice."

"Hal, hey." She can't stand Hal but she has a good feeling this might actually get FP's attention, and she's right. She catches FP's glance and grins to herself, knowing he's watching her every move.

"I heard about you and that Jones kid. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We're just taking a break."

"A break?"

"Yeah, he's pissed at me and wouldn't be reasonable, so we're taking a break until he can get over himself."

"Why is he so pissed?"

"I'm sure we both know the reason why he's so pissed."

"Ah, so he saw."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, it's partly my fault that this happened."

"Actually it's completely your fault. But don't worry about it now." She glances back over to FP who, like she expected, is still watching her. She turns back to Hal with a plan in mind. "Now we both know you had a reason for coming over here so why don't you just ask?"

"Well, alright then. Wanna grab something to eat. Say Pop's, 6 o'clock?"

"I'll be there."

"Great, see you then." He walks away and Mary and Hermione give her a confused look.

"Hello?" Hermione asks, waving a hand in her face. "What the hell was that?" 

"Yeah, what about FP?" Adds, a just as confused as Mary.

"Don't worry, I have FP exactly where I want him." She looks over at him and flashes a cocky smile before returning to her conversation with her friends.

⚜️

"So, you and Cooper going on a date tonight?" FP says behind her as she pulls books out of her locker.

"Keeping tabs on me?" 

"No, just know you well enough to know what you have planned."

"And what exactly do I have planned, FP?" She closes her locker and turns to face him.

"You know I'll get jealous and pissed off and that's exactly what you want."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She says, even though they both know he's completely right. "You haven't called me or showed any interest in wanting to fix things, so I'm going on a date with Hal at Pop's, tonight at 6." She adds the time and place nonchalantly and shrugs her shoulders. 

She places a hasty kiss on his cheek before walking away, leaving FP in her wake with a mischievous grin on his lips.

⚜️

Alice is laughing in a booth with Hal when the bell over the door rings. Indicating someone has just walked in. 

She smiles a little when she sees who it is. FP Jones in all his sexy, bad-boy, glory.

He walks past them to get to the counter, slowing only to acknowledge them. 

"Hal," he says, turning to the blonde boy across from his girl. "Alice." He nods at her and she flashes a sly grin at him. He winks at her, and she knows he's finally ready to forgive her.

She stays with Hal for another minute or two all the while watching FP. He's biting his lip, looking so irritatingly sexy. 

"Hey do you mind ordering me another milkshake? I just have to run to the ladies room quickly." She says to Hal as she steps out of their shared booth.

"Yeah, sure thing."

"Thanks." She starts walking in the direction of the bathroom, cocking an eyebrow at FP as she does. He catches on immediately and nods. 

She walks into the bathroom and, impatiently, waits for him. A minute or so later the door opens and FP walks in, locking it behind him. 

"Took you long enough." She says, her arms crossed tightly against her chest. 

"Shut up." He says before grabbing onto her hips and kissing her roughly. Her arms instantly wrap around his neck and she kisses him back. 

He picks her up, placing her on the countertop, knocking over soaps and a paper towel stack in the process. 

"I knew you'd break first." He ignores her and she smiles wickedly against his lips in triumph. 

He returns a smile before snaking his tongue in her mouth and reaching for her jeans. 

And he took her right there. On the counter in the bathroom of Pop's Chocklit Shoppe. 

When they're finished he helps her off the counter and she reaches down to put back on her jeans. 

She does them up and walks over to him, walking her fingers up his chest with a cocky smile. "So does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" She says, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Guess so." He says, reaching for her hips.

"Good, cause I missed the hell out of you." She smiles at him before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a deep kiss.

She walks out of the bathroom first, fixing her hair as she sits down across from Hal. 

FP walks out about 30 seconds later, straightening his belt for extra effect as he walks past them. 

She laughs a little to herself and dips her finger in the whip cream on her milkshake. 

Hal knew exactly what had gone on between them in the 7 minutes she had been gone. The gleam of sweat on her skin, her messy hair and the newly prominent red mark on her neck were all tell tale signs. But he'll probably never tell her that he knew. 

She shares a sly smile with FP and licks the whip cream off her finger as he walks out the door.

She knew he'd cave, and boy was she glad.


	19. Together Again

Alice and FP walk in the doors of Riverdale High, hand in hand and a smile on both of their faces.

He takes a quick scan around the hall before pressing his body into hers against his locker. 

He trails a few kisses up her neck, to her jawline before meeting his destination at her lips. 

"No way!" A high pitched voice interrupts the two and they pull away to see who it is, smiling when they see Hermione grinning at them. 

"You guys are back together?" She asks excitedly and they nod at the same time. "Ugh, finally. You two are made for each other, that felt like the longest break ever."

"Hermione, we were on a break for like three days."  Alice says, laughing at how pathetic it sounds.

"Longest three days ever."

Fred walks up to them now, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist.

"What are we talking about?"

"Look who's back together!" 

"About time." Fred murmurs as he pats FP's shoulder.

"We weren't even apart for that long." Alice says and Fred just laughs.

"Yeah but FP here was miserable without you. I was just waiting for one of you to break and talk to the other, but you're both so damn stubborn I was starting to think it would never happen." 

"Yeah and when you went out with that Cooper kid I was scared you wouldn't get back together." 

They all talk for little bit until the bell sounds, indicating they have to get to class.

"So you were miserable without me?" She teases as he walks her to class. He laughs and thinks about denying it for a moment but he instead decides to just admit to it.

"Of course I was. It was a terrible few days."

"Could've called me you know." 

"You could have called me too."

"Touché." She leans up on her top toes to kiss him before walking into her class. "Oh, and by the way, I have to work on the newspaper after school.' She bites her bottom lip softly as she waits for his reply.

"Is he going to be there?"

"Well he is a part of the paper." She walks over to him and places her hand on his cheek. "But believe me, nothing is going to happen. And I'm making it very clear you and I are back together." 

"I believe you, I just... well, honestly, I hate that guy." He says and she laughs. "And I hate the way he treats you. Acts all sweet and flirty with you, then gets drunk and says horrible stuff about you, then when he's sober he's back to being all flirty with you again."

"I know I hate it too, but I have to get along with him if I want to stay on the paper. His family are huge donors to the school, one wrong move and he could get me kicked off the paper."

"I know, I don't want that to happen. Just be careful alright? I don't trust that guy."

She smiles and leans up on her top toes to kiss him. "I will." She walks back in the direction of her classroom, stopping when she hears him talking again. 

"I love you." He whispers from down the hall. 

She smiles and blows him a kiss before disappearing into her classroom.

⚜️

 

Alice taps her pencil on her notepad, irritably. Hal is her partner for all the newspaper things and he shows up late to every single meeting.

When he finally walks in the door she glares at him.

"Sorry I'm late." Hal says as he rushes in.

"And why exactly are you late, Mr. Cooper?" Mr. Dewey asks.

"Just running late that's all." He takes a seat beside her and grins.

"What are you smiling about?"

"You. We had a great date yesterday, what do you say we do it again? Say Friday?"

"Say all you want but I won't be there."

"How come?" 

"Because I have a boyfriend."

"I thought you guys broke up?" He asks and she sighs as she explains.

"We were just on a break, which you caused by the way."

"But you're back together now?"

"That's right."

"Damn... I thought we had a good time."

"Oh yeah, we had a blast. You getting drunk and trashing my boyfriend and then getting more drunk and kissing me."

"I meant on our date."

"Well you definitely redeemed yourself, but you're still an ass."

"But you had a good time?" He presses with a smirk on his face, trying to get her to admit they had fun. And it's so frustrating she almost wants to tell him that she had sex with FP in the bathroom while on their date. But she bites her tongue and ignores him, focusing on the article she's planning.

"Alright, so what are we working on?" He asks, finally getting serious about the paper.

"There's tryouts for next years football team and cheerleading squad. We have to put it in the paper. And then one of us has to go to each of the tryouts and report who made the team."

"Well I won't be able to do that since I'm on the team and I have to watch over the football tryouts with the coach."

"If you're going to be at tryouts anyway then you can write some notes on them."

"I guess so."

"Doesn't matter really, I have friends joining the team and I'm going to watch their tryouts. Can you at least make a note of who makes it onto the team since you'll know ahead of time."

"Consider it done." 

She rolls her eyes and gives him something to do before proceeding to ignore him the rest of the time.

⚜️

When she walks out of the school she's surprised to see FP standing against his truck in the parking lot.

"What are you doing here?" She asks as she walks over to him, a smile on her face.

"You didn't think I was really going to let you walk all the way back to the Southside did you?" 

She laughs and leans up to kiss him. "I love you." 

They get in the truck and start the drive back over their side of the tracks. "So what did Cooper have to say today?"

"Well considering he showed up 30 minutes late, he didn't have much time to say anything."

"He showed up late?"

"Mhm, always does." She rolls her eyes. "Anyways, he asked if I wanted to go out again on Friday but I told him we were together again."

"What did he say?"

"I don't know, he just seemed shocked we were back together. I think he wanted us to break up for good."

"Wouldn't surprise me."

"And then he went on and on about how much fun we had on our 'date'."

"Should've told him we had sex in the bathroom." 

"I almost did, it definitely would have shut him up." She laughs.

"Did you get some stuff done for the paper?"

"Yeah but there isn't much to do. All the articles are done it's kind of just advertising extra curricular stuff. Which reminds me, I have to go watch cheerleading and football tryouts sometime next week, wanna come keep me company?"

"Sure, just let me know when." She smiles over at him and he returns a smile as he places his hand on her knee. "Actually, I was thinking about joining the team myself?"

"Cheerleading?" She teases.

"Funny, but no. Football. Fred says he loves it so I was thinking maybe I'd try out too. Gives me something to do."

"I think it's a great idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I am going to miss you keeping me company during the games."

"Well, who knows if I'll even make it, I just thought I'd tryout."

"You'll make it, and you'll be great, and I'll be at every game."

"Number one fan?"

"You know it, baby." 

FP really is interested in football, Fred is constantly telling him how fun it is. But he also knows if he makes the team, he can keep an eye on Hal, and make sure he doesn't try anything with Alice.


	20. Tryouts

Alice came strutting up this after her last class of the day, her notebook hugged tight to her chest.

"You ready?" She asks him. 

Today is tryout day and FP said he wanted to try out and he plans on staying true to that.

"Yeah, lets go." He seems a little nervous and she notices as she squeezes his hand tight.

"You'll do great baby." She assures him, he hopes so.

They walk hand in hand to the football field and see Hermione and Mary saving her a seat in the bleachers, Fred is already out on the field. 

She turns to FP with a big smile on her face and she leans in, giving him a big good luck kiss.

"Knock em' dead baby, you got this." She reassures him once more before turning on her heel and walking up to find her seat beside Mary and Hermione. 

"Hey, you came!" Fred says once he joins him on the field, patting his shoulder.

"Said I would." He says as he looks wearily into the bleachers. Alice gives him a big thumbs up and that gorgeous smile of hers and he feels a hell of a lot better.

The coach starts the tryouts as soon as everyone is there. He starts by having them run down the field, testing their speed.

Alice jots down in her notebook who the fastest is, and who the slowest is. 

Next thing he does is test their catching and throwing abilities, making sure they'll actually be able to catch a football when it's flying towards them and of course, seeing if they can throw the ball.

Alice, again jots it all down, her and her friends laughing when one of the balls connects with a boys nose.

Next up is blocking, they need to be able to block the opposite team from getting the ball.  
The coach divides them into two teams and assigns them partners who they will have to block.

Once that's over it comes to tackling. An important part and the funnest, as some would say.

The coach once again divides them into two teams. 

Fred and FP give each other a look to indicate they're going to be partners in tackling, they've played football together at the park before and they always tackle each other so this should be a piece of cake. 

But their plans are halted when Hal Cooper walks over, tapping Fred on the shoulder. 

"Fred you're with Toby, I've got FP here." Fred opens his mouth to object but FP just rolls his eyes and nods at him to just drop it.

Alice furrows her brows and squints to watch Hal and FP interact, and when she realizes that they're going to be tackling each other she feels sick to her stomach. This can't be good.

They practice tackling, Hal shoving him out of the way instantly. It doesn't seem to be in the lighthearted, practicing way that was intended, this was deliberate, and FP is having none of it.

He shoved into Hal next time and makes him stumble a bit. 

After a few more times FP fully checks him and Hal stumbles to the ground against his best efforts. 

He glares at FP as he stands up, wiping his hands free of the dirt he collected when he fell. 

FP smirks to himself and he looks into the bleachers at Alice, who looks very worried.

They shove each other a few more times as they practice blocking and tackling. And then Hal, growing increasingly more angry from all of FP's tackles, body checks FP to the ground with a hard thud.

Alice let's out a yelp from the bleachers but let's out a sigh of relief when FP stands up, completely unharmed. 

She's completely forgotten to record anyone else's activity, she's too busy watching Hal and FP.

"That all you got Coop?" FP says as he stands up. He isn't standing for long as Hal winds his arm back and delivers a hard punch to FP's face.

FP hits the ground hard and the couch blows his whistle. 

Alice is up from her seat in an instant, rushing down the stairs to the field. 

Fred and the coach help FP to his feet and he wipes away the blood from his nose. 

Alice walks over to them, looking equally concerned with FP and downright pissed off with Hal.

"Are you okay?" She asks when she walks up to him. He nods and wipes away more blood that is steadily coming from his nose.

"Why don't you take him to the nurse?" Coach says to Alice. She nods and FP takes her hand, his other pinching his nose to try and stop the blood.

As they walk off the field she hears Fred and the coach berating Hal and she smiles a little, looks good on him, she thinks.

She briefly hears Coach say "Don't bring your personal feelings into football." And she feels a twinge of guilt as she knows she's partly responsible for the boys feud.

 

⚜️

 

After the nurse checks out FP she determines that his nose isn't broken, just bled from the force of the punch, and he'll have a black eye due to the cut that's high up on his cheek. 

She gives him an ice pack and leaves the room.

"Are you okay?" Alice asks as she studies his face. The cut on his cheek is already bruising and the collar of his shirt is blood stained.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hal's an asshole though."

"You can say that again." She says as she looks down at her feet.

"Are you okay?" He asks when he notices the expression on her face.

"Yeah... I just feel like this is partly my fault."

"What? Why on Earth would you think that?"

"Because he only hates you because we're dating and I turned him down. If it wasn't for me he wouldn't have it out for you."

"Hey, listen to me." He reaches for her waist and pulls her to the space between his legs. "It's not your fault. Hal's an asshole, okay? This probably would have happened whether we're dating or not. We weren't on good terms before either." 

"Still, I hate that he's such an ass to you. He can't just treat you like shit, it's not right."

"He's rich, Al. He can do whatever the hell he wants." They both sigh as they know it's true. "And his family is one of the top donors to the school so it's not like he'll get in too much trouble for it."

"You're right. I still wish someone would give him a taste of his own medicine, lord knows he has it coming."

"I'm sure someone will get annoyed with that prissy personality of his and slap a nice old bruise into his perfect Northside complexion."

She laughs and the sound makes him smile. He wraps his arms tighter around her waist and hugs her as she wraps her arms around him.

"Let's get out of here. All that beating made me hungry." He says and she laughs again. 

"Deal." She presses a kiss to his lips and then moves away so he can stand up.

He takes her hand as they walk down the hall.   
They're almost to the doors when they see Hal waltz inside with his friends. 

Alice glares at Hal as she and FP approach him, and when they're standing in front of him she break free of FP's hand and slaps Hal, hard, across his cheek.

He holds his cheek and looks at her stunned, she just gives him an icy stare and a bitchy smile before entwining her fingers with FP's again and walking out the doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know absolutely nothing about sports so I apologize in advance if this is wrong (it probably is, but oh well)


	21. Marked

It's been two weeks since everything went on between Hal and FP, two weeks since she slapped Hal, leaving a nasty bruise on his cheek. And she would've gotten away with it if Hal hadn't ran to Coach to tell him what happened. 

Still, she could've gotten away with it, it would be her word against Hal's, but no, the surveillance cameras at the school caught the whole thing and she got detention. 

Now the detention would have only lasted a few days if Hal's parents hadn't been top donors to the school, but they are and so she got a full week and half of detention and she's serving her final day today.

It was her and two other kids, a boy with dark brown hair, a cigarette behind his ear and bruised knuckles, she could guess what he was here for. 

But the other person was Gladys, she wasn't bruised or untethered in any way, she was just sitting there, doodling in a notebook to pass time.

Alice couldn't even guess what the girl was in detention for, she hoped it was something horrible, she hoped she was going to be suspended. 

She knows it's wrong to hate Gladys, after all, she hadn't exactly done anything. But she is crushing on FP, hard, and Alice isn't one who is known to share. 

Gladys turns to Alice and catches her looking at her. "Can I help you?" She asks as she continues doodling.

"Nope." Alice says, trying to sound bitchy and unbothered, but Gladys sees through it.

"You've been staring at me this whole time so why don't you just ask me whatever you're thinking."

"I don't have anything to say to you."

"Whatever." The brunette rolls her eyes and it pisses Alice off for some unbeknownst reason, she rolls her eyes at everyone so why is she so mad about someone doing it back to her. 

Maybe it's just Gladys that's making her mad.

"Fine, you wanna know why I'm staring at you?"

"Well it's weird so yeah, I'd like to know."

"I'm staring at you because I can't even fathom a guess as to why you're here. You're always staying in your lane, not talking to hardly anyone, keeping your nose in your books, even at lunch. What could you have possibly done to land yourself in detention?"

"Called Portia Clemmon's a stuck up bitch." 

That shocks Alice, she had honestly thought the girl would've been the type to go to detention just to catch up on homework in a quiet environment, she hadn't expected her to call someone a bitch.

"Really?" Alice almost sounds impressed but she hides it as best she can.

"Mhm. Someone had to, thinks she's better than everyone just because she's rich. Would've slapped her too if the teacher hadn't of stopped me." Alice just nods and turns around, facing forward again. "Why do you even care, Alice? Thought you hated me."

"I do. But I just never pictured you to be the type to get sent to detention."

"You don't know me."

"Clearly, and I don't want to."

"Why did you even start a conversation with me if you're just going to be a bitch the entire time?"

"Told you, I was curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, maybe it'll kill you too."

"Oh good one, I'm really hurt." She fakes the hurt tone and rolls her eyes as the teacher dismisses them.

"I don't even know why you hate me so much, I didn't do anything to you." Gladys says from behind her as they walk out of the classroom.

"Flirting with my boyfriend is doing something to me. It's not a secret we're together so if you could stay away that'd be great."

"That's what this is all about? Wow, someone's insecure." Gladys mutters the last part under her breath and Alice turns on her heels, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes at Gladys.

"What did you say? Insecure?" Gladys nods as confirmation. "I am not insecure."

"Then why would you be so concerned about me having a thing for FP? If you were secure in your relationship than you wouldn't be so worried about me snatching him out from under you."

"You're delusional." Alice rolls her eyes as she walks down the hall to her locker.

"Am I? You've had a hatred for me ever since you saw me wave to FP in the hallway, why are you so worried?"

"I'm not worried, but you should be."

"I'm not scared of you, Alice." 

"And I'm not scared of you taking FP away from me." Alice grabs her bag from her locker and wings it over her shoulder, wishing she had hit Gladys with it in the process.

"Sure seems like it." Alice slams her locker door shut at that comment.

"You know what? FP and I are great, I love him he loves me, that's all I need to know to know that he's not going to dump me for you, or anyone for that matter. So why don't you just stop talking and back the hell off before I-"

"Alice Smith!" The principal's voice rings through the hall and Alice tilts her head back with a groan. "My office, now."

"Shit." She draws out the syllables, hissing through her teeth. 

When she does as she's told she sees Gladys's smug smile and she wants nothing more than to slap it off of her face.

 

⚜️

She earned herself an extra two days of detention and it would have been more had she actually finished her threat. 

She walked out the school doors, detention slip in hand and sees FP standing against his truck.

He notices the pissed off expression on her face and then notices the yellow paper slip in her hand. "What'd you do now?" He laughs and in turn earns a glare from her.

"I was arguing with Gladys and the principal heard, gave me two extra days of detention."

"You were fighting with Gladys?"

"Arguing," she corrects even though it was more of a fight than an argument. "And yes."

"About what?"

"She was in detention with me and I asked her how she landed herself in there, long story short the topic turned to you and she said that I'm insecure in our relationship and scared that you'll leave me for someone else."

"You don't believe her do you?"

"No, not really." 

He takes her hand and pulls her to him. "Believe me, Alice, I'm not leaving you for her or anyone else. Don't let her get in your head." He kisses her forehead and wraps his arms around her tightly. "I love you." He tells her just to make sure she knows.

"I know." She pulls back from his embrace just enough to be able to look at him. "I love you too." He smiles and leans down to capture her lips in a steamy kiss.

He trails his kisses from her lips to her jaw, then her neck, sucking on the spot he knows she loves.

"What are you doing?" She asks, a smile in her voice that shows no complaints.

"Proving to everyone that your mine and only mine, and leaving evidence so Gladys knows I'm not leaving you for her or anyone else."

"Good thing I already left my mark on you this morning." He pulls his lips away from her neck, a small bruise forming in the spot, and looks at her quizzingly. 

She doesn't say a word, just smiles and bites her bottom lip as she runs her fingers across his neck, indicating the spot where she left her mark.

He just smiles and kisses her again and she secretly hopes Gladys saw the whole thing.


	22. A Motorcycle & a Snake Tattoo

FP drove into the school parking lot, the dirt flying up underneath the wheel of his new motorcycle. 

Alice is finally free from detention today, that is if she doesn't argue with someone and get herself in more trouble.

He gets off of the motorcycle, places his helmet beside the extra one he brought for her, and leans against the bike as he waits for her.

5 minutes later he sees her walk out the door and into the lot, a smile spreading across her face when she sees him and the bike.

"Hi, handsome." She says, leaning in to kiss him. "This yours?" She gestures to the bike with a grin.

"Just bought it. You like?"

"Love. Makes you look even sexier." She runs her hands up his torso to rest upon his leather clad shoulders and he holds onto her hips tightly.

"Wanna go for a ride?" She nods and he turns around to grab something. "Here, brought you this," He hands her her Serpent jacket and she puts it on as he continues to talk. "thought we'd go to the Wyrm, celebrate you finally being detention free. Unless of course you got yourself into trouble again?" 

"Funny." She glares at him, teasingly, and he smirks at her. "Lets go." She says, nudging him towards his bike. 

He hands her a helmet and she puts it on, pulling her hair out to hang down her shoulders. "Shit, I knew you'd look good but I didn't know you'd look this good." He says as he looks her up and down.

Tight, short, black skirt, her Serpent jacket on her shoulders, her blonde hair hanging down from underneath her helmet; she's a vision, and she's all his. 

He gets on the bike and she sits behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle.

 

⚜️

 

"Hung on a little tight there, Smith. Scared?" He teases as they pull into the Whyte Wyrm. 

"Just not exactly keen on dying in a motorcycle accident." She says, pulling her helmet off and handing it to him.

"Don't trust me?"

"I trust you, just not your driving."

"You're fine when we're driving in my truck." 

He steps closer into her space and she places her hands on his sides.

"Your truck has more than two wheels." She grabs onto the lapels of his jacket and pulls him close enough that when she talks her lips brush against his. "Now shut up and kiss me." 

He smirks and closes the barely there distance between them, slipping his tongue behind her teeth almost instantly. She doesn't make any protests, just places a hand on the back of his neck to try and pull him even closer.

When they walk into the Wyrm they take a seat at the bar and order their usual drinks; a beer for FP and tequila for Alice.

"You know what I just realized?" FP says after about an hour.

"What's that?"

"You never got your Serpent tattoo."

"Oh, you're right!"

"What do you say we go get it now?"

"Now?"

"Mhm, there's a room in the back and Cobra usually does the tattoos for everyone." He elaborates when she looks at him a little worried. "Don't worry, he works part time in a tattoo parlour, he knows what he's doing. And everything's sanitary, fresh needles and everything."

"Alright." She says, knocking back the tequila shot in front of her. "But you're coming with me."

"Of course." 

He stands up and takes her hand, walking through the building to find Cobra. 

"Hey man, you up for doing a tattoo right now?" He asks once they find the older man. "Alice here never got hers."

He nods. "Go get settled in the back, I'll be right there."

FP leads her to the back room and she sits down on a chair. 

"You good, baby?" He asks when he sees her looking a little uneasy.

"Yeah, just a little nervous."

"It's not that bad don't worry."

"Mhm." She doesn't believe him.

"Alright fine, it depends on where you get it. Mine hurt a bit but it's also in the middle of my chest." He says and she nods slowly. "Any idea where you want yours?"

"Well I need to be able to hide it." She thinks for a moment before a mischievous grin crawls upon her lips. "And I think I want it in a place that no one can see... that is, unless I don't have any clothes on." She raises an eyebrow at him and he feels his body temperature grow hot.

"Where exactly would that be?" He raises an eyebrow as he leans over to her but before she can answer the door opens and Cobra walks in.

"Alright, you ready, kid?" He asks Alice and she nods in response. 

He gets everything ready and then turns to her. "Alright, where do you want it?"

She stands up for a moment to pull the side of her skirt down a bit. "Here." She points to a place just below her hipbone and FP feels his cheeks and ears get hot.

Cobra nods and gestures for her to take a seat again. 

She does as she's asked and FP scoots his chair closer to her side. "You got anywhere to be after this?" He asks, suggestively, and she bites her lip softly as she shakes her head no. "Good."

She grips FP's leg tightly the entire time, she didn't exactly choose a good spot, pain wise, but she's happy with her choice and it seems FP is happy with it too.

When its done she admires it in the mirror and FP comes up behind her. "Well, you're officially a Serpent now." She smiles at his words and turns around to face him. 

She kisses him slowly and thoroughly and he moves to kiss her jaw, making his way down to her neck, leaving little love bites in his wake.

"FP." She mutters, breathlessly as he nips at her skin. "Take me home." 

He pulls away from her neck and flashes her a grin. "As you wish."

 

⚜️

 

They're in his bedroom basically the second they enter his trailer, and her clothing is gone basically the second they step into his bedroom.

She pulls off his t-shirt, running her hands across the snake on his chest, gently raking her nails against his skin.

She presses a soft kiss to his lips before moving to lay back on his bed, stretching her naked form out for his eyes only.

She curls her finger, gesturing for him to come to her and he does so happily. 

She pulls him into a kiss the second his body presses against hers and she bites at his bottom lip softly.

He kisses his way down her body to the fresh ink on her hip. "You have no idea how hot this is, baby." He tells her and she smirks as she watches him. "I hope I'm the only one who ever gets to see it." 

His words makes her stomach flutter, the thought of spending the rest of her life with FP should scare her but it does the complete opposite. 

"I do too." She tells him and he smiles up at her.

"Does it hurt?" He questions. She shakes her head no and a devilish smile crawls across his lips as he leans his head down to kiss the tattoo, running his tongue across the fresh ink.

She squirms underneath him from the pleasure and places her fingers in his hair as he trails his kisses lower.


	23. “Wannabe Serpent”

A few weeks later FP and Alice are hanging out at the Whyte Wyrm, a usual thing, a favourite hangout spot of theirs. 

That is until Penny shows up and ruins it, which happens quite often. 

"Scotch on the rocks." Penny orders, and then she turns, faking shock as she locks eyes with Alice who is sitting next to FP. "Alice! Hi, long time no see."

"Not in the mood, Penny." Alice says, tipping her head back to finish a tequila shot.

"Mood for what? I just want to talk."

"You never just want to talk, you always have some ulterior motive."

"No, not today. Besides I don't interact with non-Serpents."

"She is a Serpent, Penny." FP says.

"Well sure she did the dance and all, but where's the tattoo? The thing that shows your true loyalty to us. You're nothing until you get it."

"Just go away, Penny." Alice says, visibly annoyed and not in the mood to deal with Penny and certainly not wanting to have to prove anything to her.

"See FP here," She cocks an eyebrow and smiles devilishly, turning to FP, eyes still locked with Alice's. "He has his tattoo, we all know it. We've all seen it." She runs her hand down FP's chest and Alice's jaw tenses. "But none of us have seen yours so that leads me to believe its nonexistent."

"Get your grimy little hands off my boyfriend, Penny." She swats Penny's hand away and shoots her a glare. "And not that I have to prove anything to you, but I do have my tattoo. Just got it a few weeks ago."

"Well none of us have seen it."

"It's there."

"Then how come none of us have seen it?"

"It's not somewhere that's visible."

"Oh, I see. But why so shy now? I mean you had no issues stripping for the entire bar when you did your initiation, what's got you so shy now."

"Leave her alone, Penny."

"Shut it, FP."

"I'm not going to show you anything, I don't have to prove anything to you."

"You're nothing but a Southside wannabe until you have that snake inked on your skin."

"I told you, I have it."

"Penny back off, she has it. I've seen it, I was there when she got it."

"Of course you'll back her up, FP. She's fucking you. If you don't vouch for her she'll leave you for some Northside boy." She turns her head to Alice. "Isn't that right? I heard Hal Cooper is eagerly awaiting your inevitable break up."

"Shut the hell up, Penny!"

"Why? Scared FP will get mad and run away again?"

"How did you-"

"I see everything in this town, I hear everything, I can make your life a living hell, don't think I won't." She steps closer to Alice, face to face, so close they could claw each other eyes out.

"I'm not afraid of you, Penny."

"No but you should be."

"I will never, ever be afraid of you Penny."

"You sure about that?"

"Positive." She glares at Penny once more as FP stands up, taking her hand to try and get her to leave the building.

He leads her out of the building with his hands on her shoulders. When they're out in the parking lot he spins her around to face him.

"What the hell was that, Alice?" He shouts.

"I'm sick and tired of her belittling me and thinking she can just flirt with you all the time."

"I know, I hate it too but you're going to get yourself hurt."

"I'm not scared of her, FP." She starts to walk away from him but he grabs her wrist.

"I know you aren't, but I am." She turns to him and sees his being honest. "You don't know what she's capable of, Alice. And if anything happens to you I don't know what I would do with myself."

"FP-" She starts but he shushes her and she knows he's not done.

"I love how fearless you are, and don't get me wrong I always find it amusing when you call Penny out. But I've seen some horrible things here and I don't want anything to happen to you. So please just promise me that you will be more careful."

"I promise." She steps closer into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his middle and burying her head in his chest. "I just hate seeing her all over you. It really pissed me off. And calling me a wannabe Serpent? The girl knows how to push my buttons."

"That she does. Not like it's hard." He quips and she swats at him, causing him to laugh. "I'm kidding." He leans back and brushes her hair out of her face. "I love you." 

"I know." She says, leaning up to kiss him. "I love you too."

"Now do you think we can go back in there or are we going to need to go find another bar?"

"I'll be fine." She says, taking his hand and walking back towards the entrance of the Whyte Wyrm. "But if she lays another hand on you she's done for."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, honey."


	24. Fight Club

She knocks back the tequila shot in front of her and looks down at FP. He squeezes at her hip as he sips the last of his beer.

She fuses their lips together when he sets his drink down and her fingers rake against the back of his neck.

When she pulls away she bites at his bottom lip softly. "I'll go get us another drink." When she moves a little in his lap a devilish smirk crawls upon her lips and she leans down to whisper in his ear. "Might want to hide that." She runs her hand over his jeans just to really make known what she's talking about.

"Can't help it, you're hot, baby." She runs her lips across his neck as he speaks and then she stands up, smoothing out her tight skirt. "And you're a tease." He grabs at her butt as she walks away, flashing him a smile before walking out of his sight.

He isn't alone for long as Penny takes Alice's absence as a cue to cause trouble.

She walks over to him and places her hands on his shoulders, running them down his chest, raking her bitten down nails across him. 

He catches her hands on his, instantly knowing it's not Alice. For one, he didn't feel the long claw like scratch of Alice's nails, he was oh so used to. And two, he knew Penny was always leaping onto him when Alice wasn't around.

"How's it going bad boy?" She whispers, seductively, in his ear.

"Go away, Penny." He snarls, releasing her hands and jerking away from her touch. 

"Don't you want some company?" She says, moving so she's leaning against the table, facing him.

"Not from you."

"Oh come on, FP," She swings a leg over him and settles herself fully onto his lap. "you're clearly very hot and bothered, I can help with that." 

"Please Penny, if anything you're making it want to fall off." 

She tries to hide the flash of anger she gets from his comment but he sees it anyway. He also sees Alice coming their way and they exchange a look that Penny misses.

She opens her mouth to say something but before she can she feels the sharp dig of Alice's nails into her shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alice spits. "Get off of my boyfriend."

She gets up from FP's lap and turns to face Alice. "Alice, always a pleasure." She fakes a smile and Alice glares at her in return.

"Penny, always a bother."

"Ouch, I'm so hurt." She steps closer to Alice and shares her glare. "Losing your edge Alice? Got nothing worse to say to me?"

"I'm not doing this tonight, Penny. FP and I were having a good time until now, so if you could kindly fuck off that would be great." Penny rolls her eyes at that and laughs.

"You think you're so special don't you, Alice? Just because you're dating FP? Think you're all in love and shit, think it's going to last forever? Well don't forget that I was with him too and we know how that turned out."

"Well you're a conniving bitch so it makes sense."

"Like you're any better?" Alice bites on her bottom lip, trying to keep some composure when she wants nothing more than to slap Penny silly. 

But instead of violence she resorts to using her words, and they cut Penny like a knife.

"You're nothing to him. He couldn't give two shits about you. I'm shocked he ever dated you in the first place."

Penny knows what she's doing. Trying to get a rise out of her. Hit her where it hurts since Alice knows she's still bitter over her and FP's breakup. So instead of cowering away she gives Alice a taste of her own medicine, forms her words to specifically trigger a part of Alice; her jealous streak.

"Oh but he did. You wanna hear about it Alice? Wanna hear about how he would kiss me, mark my body with hickies the way he does to you, kiss every inch of my body. How he would fuck me senseless-" anything else that could have came out of her mouth is muted when Alice slaps her. The sound of the hit echoing across the room. 

A few noticeable gasps fall from the people watching. 

She's not nearly as drunk as she should be when she slaps Penny, she's hardly even buzzed, but yet here she is.

"Oh, she hits." Penny snarls as she rubs at her cheek. 

"Like I said, I'm not doing this tonight. So go away and leave us alone." 

Penny does the exact opposite. Instead, she slaps Alice back. 

"What the hell Penny?" Alice exclaims as she rubs at her cheek, FP shoots a glare in Penny's direction.

"Hey don't get mad, you hit first." A smug smile comes upon Penny's lips and Alice cliches her fists.

"I had just caught you straddling my boyfriend and then you proceeded to taunt me about your relationship with him. At least you deserved it."

"Whatever, we all know that this is just a casual little fling. You two will be done and over soon and you'll run off to the first Northside boy you can find and become that perfect little Stepford-"

Anything else that Penny was going to say is cut off when Alice punches her. She stumbles backwards and wipes the blood from her nose as she glares up at Alice. 

FP is up from his seat in a second, coming up behind Alice and grabbing her shoulder to keep her there. "Come on, lets go." He says, firmly, taking her hand and pulling her with him.

They don't get far as Penny grabs Alice's shoulder, turning her back to face her, and punches her, hard.

FP catches her as she falls backwards, the force of the hit nearly knocking her out. When Alice tries to get at her again FP wraps his arms around her middle to restrain her.

Tallboy grabs ahold of Penny. "Get her out of here before things get any worse." He says, gesturing towards Alice. 

FP nods and takes her hand. "Alright, Rocky, lets go."


	25. Black and Blue

When she wakes up it's with a throbbing feeling in her head and face. There's also a slight buzzing sound accompanying the pain.

She remembers what happened last night, her and FP having a good time, then seeing Penny straddling FP and taunting her about their past relationship, slapping Penny before she could say anything else, and punching her a few minutes later, earning a punch herself.

And now here she is in FP's bed, but he's nowhere to be seen. She can hear movements in the kitchen and she registers that that's where he must be. 

She lays back down and pulls the blankets up around her neck, groaning as she silently curses herself for fighting last night. 

FP probably isn't happy with her, he's always been worried about her fighting with Penny and getting herself hurt, and that's exactly what she did.

As if on cue FP walks into the bedroom with two mugs in his hand. "You're up. Thought you were down for the count." He smirks at her as he walks over to the bed and sticks out one of the mugs for her to take.

"Funny." She says, narrowing her eyes at him as she takes the mug. 

He sits down on the bed beside her, leaning up against the headboard as he turns to her. He cracks a smile as he drinks in hr appearance.

She's beautiful, she always is. Her blonde waves are messy from sleep and hanging loose down her back. There's love bites adorning the side of her neck from last night before everything went to shit. But what he really smirks at is the little cut on her cheek bone from where Penny's ring caught her when she slapped her, and the black and blue bruise around her eye from the punch.

He brushes his fingers over the bruise, careful not to hurt her and he smirks. "Nice shiner, honey."

She pouts a little at that comment. "How bad is it?" She asks, reaching up to touch her eye.

"Well you've got a black eye, I'll let you be the judge of that. But in my opinion it's kind of hot." She scoffs at that.

"Yeah, right." She rolls her eyes as she sips her coffee.

"I'm serious. Watching you fight last night, I mean I was scared you were going to get yourself hurt, but there was something sexy about it." She turns to him, raising an eyebrow. "And since I know it was purely out of jealousy it makes it that much more enticing." He leans in to kiss her jaw and she frowns.

"Not jealous." She states. He pulls away to look at her and raises his eyebrow. "What? I wasn't! I just don't want to hear her talk about you two having sex, or really talk about you two at all." She leans over him to set her mug on the nightstand and then settles up against the headboard beside him, swinging her legs over his own.

"Sounds like jealousy to me." He says, setting his own mug on the nightstand placing his hands on Alice's legs, running his fingers up and down.

"Please, I know I've got you all to myself." She moves to straddle his waist and he places his hands on her hips. "So no, I'm not jealous of her, or anyone else."

"Good. You know I'm all yours." He leans up to capture her lips with his own and she smiles against him. "But you do have to be careful. I mean a black eye and a little cut is nothing, but if it were to be any worse... God, I don't even know what I'd do. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'm not going to."

"You have a black eye and a gash on your cheekbone that begs to differ."

"Okay fine, so I got into a little fist fight, I'm fine. And now Penny will stop bugging me." She leans in to kiss at his jawline he holds her shoulder to push her away slightly so he can talk to her. She pouts at him. "FP-" she starts but he cuts her off.

"Alice, I'm not joking here. You smacking Penny around probably made her more pissed and hate you more than she already does. You have to be careful." He tucks her hair behind her ear and lets his thumb brush against her cheek. "I don't know what I'd do if she hurt you. And I've seen her do some nasty things to people, bust people up worse than she did to you. I don't want that to happen to you."

"I'm sorry." She says, tumbling off of his lap and falling back into the bed. "I know you always tell me to be careful, not to fight Penny, just let it be. But, jeez she just really gets to me, you know?"

"I know. And I love how territorial you are, believe me, it's hot as hell, but I really don't want have to rush you to the emergency room because you let your jealousy get the best of you." He moves to hover over her, running his fingers through her hair. 

"I'll keep it in check." She says and he raises an eyebrow at her, causing her to roll her eyes. "I'll try to keep it in check." He smiles at her and kisses her jaw, making his way down the column of her neck. "But if she thinks she can straddle your lap and flirt with you I'm going to teach her otherwise."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, baby." She smiles and leans up to catch his lips in a proper kiss. 

"Now since Penny had to ruin it last night, we never got to finish what we started." She wraps her legs around his waist and cants her hips up towards his. "What do you say we pick up where we left off?" She bites her bottom lip softly and he smiles as he leans down to kiss her.


	26. New Years Eve

New Years Eve, a time to be with friends and family. But also a time for parties, and with parties comes alcohol which inevitably can lead to some bad things.

It should have been a warning sign to all of them when Penelope Horvath had invited them to a New Years party at her house. 

Hermione convinced them that they should all attend. FP and Alice were really the only two who protested even slightly. 

"Come on you guys, it'll be fun." Hermione said, trying to convince the two of them to come.

"I don't know Hermione, I mean Penelope hasn't always been the kindest to the people living in the Southside, how do you even know she'll want us there?" Alice says as she grabs her books out of her locker.

"Yeah not to sound like a jerk but Penelope Horvath is quite possibly the devil incarnate. I don't think I want to ring in the new year with her." FP adds, and Alice nods her head in agreement.

"Come on you two, I know you don't have better plans."

"You have no idea what we have planned." Alice exclaims.

"Oh please. You'll probably sit around in FP's trailer, drinking cheap liquor and eating Pop's takeout."

"Sounds like a fun night to me." FP says, Alice agrees.

"No, uh uh. You guys are coming."

"No, Hermione we already told you we're not."

"At least come for a little bit and if it's really that bad then you can leave. Okay? Do we have a deal?" Hermione asks with a pleading look on her face. FP looks to Alice who just shrugs her shoulder and then turns back to face Hermione. 

"Fine." He lets out and Hermione squeals in delight. "But if it's as bad as I think it's going to be we're out of there."

"Fine, deal." And with that Hermione gets into her car and drives away.

"I really don't want to ring in the new year with Penelope Horvath and all those other prissy Northsiders." Alice says, bitterly.

"I know baby, I don't either. But I do want to spend it with our friends." 

"Well I do too but I don't understand why we can't just hang out at one of our houses."

"Tell you what," FP says, leaning into her and lightly pressing her body into the door of his truck with his own. "if it's as bad as we think it will be then we'll go back to my place and I'll make it up to you." He presses a kiss to her neck and then looks back up at her, meeting her eyes with his own.

"Fine." She says, smiling ever so slightly. "But we're getting takeout and we're drinking the cheap tequila we got from the Wyrm."

"Fine by me. As long as you're with me I don't care what we're doing." 

⚜️

"Alright, I'm already over this can we go home now?" Alice whines as they stand just outside of Penelope's front door.

"Alice we haven't even gone in yet, how about you save the dramatics until they're actually necessary?" Hermione says, annoyed at Alice's attitude.

"I just don't have a good feeling, that's all."

"You'll be fine. Now let's go." Hermione opens the door and instantly the sound of loud music rings through all of their ears, and the heavy scent of marijuana and liquor hangs in the air.

"Hermione, you made it!" Penelope squeals once she sees the fellow cheerleader. "And you brought your handsome boyfriend." She says, looking over at Fred.

"Paws off, he's all mine." Hermione jokes, and Alice nearly gags at how fake she's being.

"Oh please no need to worry, Clifford's here and he's all mine." Penelope looks behind Fred and sees FP and Alice standing there, whispering to each other. "And you brought Scum and Scummette. How nice. But I suppose it was an open invite so everyone's welcome." Penelope says with a roll of her eyes and then she disappears into the party.

Alice glares at Hermione. "Seriously? We didn't even do anything and she's already trashing us."

"I know, I'm sorry. But come on, just wait it out a little while longer." Hermione says, taking Fred's hand and gesturing for the two of them to follow her.

As they walk through the crowd of people someone bumps into Alice, nearly knocking her over if it weren't for FP standing right behind her. 

"Shit, I'm sorry." The person says. 

"It's fine, I wasn't paying attention." Alice says before looking up to see the person she bumped into. When she sees that it's none other than Hal Cooper she freezes. 

"Alice Smith, what a lovely surprise. I haven't seen you since you slapped me in the face."

"And then you went and cried to coach about it, landing me in detention."

"Rumour has it you got yourself extra detention for threatening someone. Now that can't be true can it?"

"Oh shove it Hal, you-" FP curls an arm around her waist and pull her away from Hal. He ignores Hal's comments about him and just pulls Alice into the kitchen.

"Look baby, I know he's an ass but the last thing we need is to get into a fight with a Northsider. Penelope would probably get both of our asses sent to jail and I don't want that to happen." FP says, taking both of her hands in his own.

"I'm sorry, it's just... I don't know he just really pisses me off."

"He pisses me off too but you just gotta try and ignore him for the night, alright?" She nods and he pulls her to him, hugging her tight as he kisses her forehead. "I love you." 

"Love you too."

⚜️ 

They manage to get through most of the night without any more problems from Hal. In fact they're actually managing to have a decent time. They're dancing and laughing and living in their own little bubble. But of course, they could never enjoy themselves for long until something or someone had to ruin it.

Alice and FP stood in a corner of the large living room, a distance away from everyone, just talking and laughing with each other. 

Someone walks by and bumps into Alice's shoulder. "Watch it scum." The girl spits out. Alice just glares at her, not knowing what she did and choosing to ignore it.

"Don't listen to her baby." FP says, running his hand through her hair and tucking a strand behind her ear. She just nods and smiles at him.

It's a little while later when she notices a few Northsiders standing in a circle staring at her and FP, laughing and pointing. She ignores them and takes FP's hand, leading him into a different part of the house.

They accidentally run into Penelope. "Shit, sorry." Alice says.

"Watch it you snake." Penelope says. 

"It was an accident, calm down."

"An accident? Sure. You two Southsider's show up here and have made the night nothing but miserable for us. We've all had to watch our bags in fear that you'll steal from us." 

"Come on Penelope, we came here with Hermione we're not hurting anybody we've kept to ourselves the entire night."

"You're nothing but trash, why are you even out here on the Northside?" Penelope asks, glaring at Alice. "Who here agrees that these two scumbags should go back to the Southside?" Penelope aka, loud enough for everyone to hear her. Most of the people agree and some even shout at them to get out.

"Penelope, what are you doing? They're my friends. You said it was an open invite so I invited them, take it down a notch." Hermione says, coming up behind Penelope, Fred in tow.

"I didn't mean you could go and invite these criminals."

"They're not-" Hermione starts but Penelope shushes her.

"What are you both still doing here? Get out!" Penelope exclaims. "Get out!" She throws her drink at Alice and she jumps back, wiping her face and clothes.

"What the hell Penelope?" FP yells before turning to Alice.

"Don't FP, it's not worth it. Let's go." Alice says, taking his hand and leading them to the front door.

"Alice, FP, wait-" Hermione says, calling after her friends.

"You're really going to waste your time with them, Hermione?" Penelope asks, laughing at the thought, and Alice's hand freezes on the doorknob. Hermione looks between her friends and Penelope and the rest of the Northsiders. Alice just rolls her eyes and opens the door, walking out with FP in tow, slamming the door shut behind her.

She lets go of his hand the minute they get outside and starts walking off. "Alice!" FP calls, chasing after her. "Alice, wait." He runs in front of her and places his hands on her shoulders, stopping her from going anywhere.

"FP, stop just let me go." She says, refusing to look up at him.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere." He says.

"I don't want to talk about this." She says and he can hear her voice is unsteady.

"Alice-"

"FP stop! I just want to go home, okay?"

"No, it's not okay. You're not okay." He says, firmly.

"Of course I'm not okay. I was just humiliated in front of half the damn Northside population and I didn't even do anything. Hell I haven't even talked to Penelope before tonight and she throws a drink at me? What was that about?"

"She's a terrible person, Alice." He says, cupping her face in his hands as he wipes her tears. "Believe me, I know, I've gone through all this before. The Northsider's always look down on us, that's how it's always been."

"I don't even care about that. I just... I didn't even want to come to this party, I had a bad feeling from the start. But you and I were having a good time that I thought it was going to be fine." She says, trying to hide her face so he doesn't see her cry, thinking that it makes her look pathetic and weak crying over the harassment from the prissy Northsiders. He just holds her face in his hands, knowing all too well how she's feeling. "I just wanted to ring in the New Year with our friends and have fun, like we usually do when we're together... God, I probably look like an idiot right now, crying over some bullshit stuff Penelope Horvath said." She wipes at her cheeks, laughing in spite of herself and her current state of emotions.

"No, you have every right to be upset about this. I'm sorry this happened. I hate that she treated us like that, especially in front of everyone, but you're nothing like she described us. You're not scum, you're not trash, you're not a criminal, you're beautiful, you're smart, you're the most amazing person I have ever met." He says, and he sees the faintest bit of smile on her lips and it warms his heart. 

"I love you." She says, wrapping her arms around his middle and hugging him tight.

"I love you too, Alice... so much." He wraps his own arms around her and kisses the top of her head. "Now what do you say we go back to my place and we'll have a little party of our own?" 

"That sounds perfect." She says, letting out an exhausted laugh. FP kisses her forehead and then takes her hand as they make their way back to the Southside.

⚜️

They're sitting together on the couch, drinking the cheap liquor they got from the Wyrm and eating leftover Pop's takeout, when there's a knock on the door. Alice untangles herself from FP as he gets up to answer the door.

She hears him laugh and greet the people behind the door and then he turns to her. "You up for some company, Al?"

"That depends, who is it?" Alice asks as she gets up from the couch. She walks over and stands behind FP and sees Fred and Hermione at the door. "I thought you'd be staying at Penelope's party?" Alice says, crossing her arms and giving Hermione a cold look.

"Please, once you left I gave her a mouthful." Hermione says.

"You did?" Alice asks, pleasantly surprised with her friend. Fred nods from behind Hermione for reassurance.

"Yep. She asked me if I was really going to after you two "Southside scumbags" as she so affectionately called you," Alice rolls her eyes at the thought, knowing it's all too true. "and so I berated her on how much of a horrendous bitch she is and here we are. So what do you say, you up for some company?"

Alice looks to FP and then nods. "Come on in." She steps aside to let the two of them in.

"Oh I almost forgot," Hermione says as she takes off her jacket. "we stole some of Penelope's liquor, so now it's really a party."

"And she called us the criminals." FP says, laughing as Hermione sets the bottles down on the coffee table.

"I hate that Mary isn't here, she just had to go on a ski trip this week of all weeks." Fred says.

"She's probably having more fun up there in the mountains then we are here." Hermione says as she takes a swig from the stolen vodka bottle.

"Hey guys it's almost 12 o'clock!" FP announces when he pears up at the clock on the wall.

The four of them all watch as the clock ticks down, counting along once it gets closer to midnight.

"10...9....8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Happy New Year!" All four of them yell at the same time.

"Happy new year baby." FP says, taking Alice's face in his hands and kissing her. 

Ringing in the New Year the right way.


	27. School’s Out For Summer

{Flash forward to end of Junior year.)  
_

"Guess who?" Alice whispers as she covers FP's eyes with her hands.

"Hmm, let me think." He says, pondering the obvious answer for a few seconds. "I think... it's my super hot girlfriend?" He takes her hands and turns around, seeing her grinning back at him. "Well would you look at that? I was right!" He says and she giggles as he leans in to kiss her.

"God I'm so glad junior year is over, I need out of this place for a bit or I'm going to go insane." She says as she leans back against his locker, his hands instantly coming to hold her hips.

"I just can't wait to spend every single day with you." He says.

"We already do."

"Yeah but now you won't have to leave me to go home on school nights, we can stay out all night."

"Mmm, that's true." She says before kissing him. She bites at his bottom lip softly and as fate would have it that's when Fred and Hermione show up.

"Alright you freaks, tone down the kinkiness." Fred teases.

"Whatever." Alice says with classic roll of her eyes. "You guys ready to go?" They nod and follow Alice and FP outside.

_

They arrive at Sweetwater river, their favourite hangout spot, and all climb into the back of FP's truck. 

"Anyone got tabs on Mary? When's she supposed to get here?" FP asks.

"She said she'd be here after tutoring, so like three thirty." Hermione answers. "What time is it?

Alice grabs FP's wrist and reads the time on it. "Three forty-five, She should be here anytime." 

Sure enough the roll of tires hits the gravel as Mary pulls up. "You made it!" Hermione exclaims when the red head pops out of the car.

"I told you I would!" She says as she hops up into the truck bed. She sits beside FP, leaning against the wall of the truck, Alice between his legs. 

"It feels so good knowing that on Monday I don't have to wake up and go to school." Fred says.

"Tell me about it. I was about to go crazy if I had to stay another day there." Alice adds.

"Please you and FP skip all the time."

"Yeah and do God only knows what." Mary adds.

"Definitely some weird stuff, should've seen them earlier Mare, they-" Hermione starts but Mary cuts her off when she raises her hand in a stop motion.

"Save me the image, I don't want to think about what they do in their spare time." Mary says, gesturing to the couple beside her. Alice and FP both stick their tongues out at her.

"FP and I's sex life aside, is there anything else we can talk about?" Alice says, earning a few eye rolls and ew's from the group. FP, however, just laughs and kisses the top of her head. "I'm serious you guys! Summer in Greendale was always so shitty, everyone was so snooty over there and there wasn't even half the fun attractions there are here, and since this is the first summer I'm spending in Riverdale I want to make it count!"

"Well what do you have in mind?" Hermione asks.

"I don't know, I'm not from here, that's kind of my point. What do you usually do in the summer?"

"Well there's a fair we always go to in August." Fred says.

"Yeah that's always a blast." FP adds. "You'll love it baby. We all go and stay there until it closes."

"Yeah and it's not a true end of summer fair without FP eating way too much cotton candy and hurling all over the place." Mary says and Alice laughs.

"You can't go to the fair without eating cotton candy! That's like... going to a wedding and not having a slice of wedding cake." FP defends. 

"Well maybe you should have a little less." 

"Don't worry babe, when you get sick I'll take care of you." Alice says in a baby voice, squeezing FP's cheeks to pucker his lips, making him roll his eyes but smile nonetheless.

"See this is a real one," He says pointing at Alice. "all of you just stand there and laugh at me." 

"Hey I never said I wouldn't be laughing, I just said I'd take care of you." Alice says, leaning up just enough to kiss his cheek before sinking back down against him. "Anything else you guys do?"

"Cliff jumping?" Fred suggests.

"Cliff jumping?"

"Yeah either you take a boat out there or, like we always do, take the little trail in the woods and there's a little clearing to some cliffs over Sweetwater river, we found them last summer."

"I'm in." Alice says. "I think this will actually be a good summer."

"I think you're right." Mary says.


	28. Family Visits

Alice wakes up wrapped tightly in FP's arms. He had snuck in through her window late last night and fell asleep beside her.

She rolls over enough to see his face and lightly trails her fingertips over his cheek. His eyes slowly open and he smiles when he sees her smiling back at him. "Well this is a nice way to wake up in the morning." He says as he kisses her softly.

"I'll say." She looks over at the clock beside her bed and sits up in a panic. "Oh my gosh!" She exclaims.

"What?" He asks groggily, still coming out of sleep.

"It's nine in the morning FP! My alarm didn't go off! You need to go!" She says as she hops over him to start gathering his clothes. 

"Shit!" He says, equally as panicked. She throws him his pants and shirt and he quickly redresses himself.

She's got family visiting from Greendale and they're coming to the house for the weekend. They're set to arrive at 9:30 and knowing Alice's family they're always annoyingly late, even early sometimes.

"Alice honey?" Her mom says as she knocks on the door.

"Shit!" Alice whispers as her and FP both shared a panicked look. "One second mom!" She says. "Hurry up!" She mouths to him and he continues doing up his pants.

"I'm done, what are we going to do?" He asks in a hushed voice.

"Just follow my lead okay?" She says and he nods as she walks over to the door, opening it to reveal her mom.

"I just wanted to see if you were-" she pauses when she sees FP in the room behind her daughter. "Oh, hi FP, I didn't expect you here this early."

"Did you not hear me leave this morning?" She asks with a quirk of her eyebrow. "FP and I went to Pop's for breakfast around 7 ish and then came back here to watch a movie. We must have lost track of time." She's rambling but praying to the heavens her mom doesn't notice.

"Oh... I didn't hear you leave." Her mom says with a hint of suspicion in her voice.

"You and dad were still asleep."

"Oh." Is all her mom says as she looks between the two teenagers.

"I was actually just about to leave." FP says.

"FP, if you don't have anything to do today you're welcome to stay. We just have some family coming in from Greendale to visit." Her mom says, surprising both Alice and FP.

FP looks between Alice and her mom before saying anything. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense. I'm sure having you here would make it much more enjoyable for Alice." 

"Uh, yeah I'd love to stay. If you want me to that is."

"Definitely. My family can be a real bore."

"Alice!" Her mom exclaims. "It's true but don't say that in front of any of them." She says making Alice laugh.

"Got it." 

"Alright, I'll call you when they're here." Alice notes that her mom doesn't close the door when she leaves but tries not to think too much of it.

"That was close." FP says as he wraps his arms around Alice.

"I think she's onto us." She says.

"Why do you think that?"

"Just the way she was looking between us she definitely knew something was up, and the fact that she didn't close the door."

"Well at the very least she didn't kick me out and I get to keep you company for the day."

"Thank God for that. My family can be a real snooze fest."

"Well I guess it's a good thing I'll be here then." He leans down to kiss her and she gladly kisses him back, wanting nothing more than to drag him back to her bed.

"Okay, I need to get dressed." She says, gesturing to her pyjamas. 

She gets dressed and just in time too because her mom calls for them. "They're here!"

"You ready babe?" She asks.

"Only for you." He says, kissing her once before she leads him downstairs.

"Alice! Oh how are you dear, you've grown so much!" Her grandma squeals in excitement when she walks downstairs.

"Hi grandma, hi grandpa." She hugs both of her grandparents and then they see FP. 

"Now who is this handsome boy?"

"This is my boyfriend."

"FP Jones." He introduces himself, shaking hands with her grandparents.

"Well its very nice to meet you FP. I take it your taking good care of our granddaughter here?" Her grandpa says and she silently curses him for that question because she knows where FP's  dirty mind is bound to drift.

"Oh yes, she's in good hands." He says with a grin and luckily they don't catch the innuendo laced in his words but she does and she pinches his arm lightly.

"I see you've met FP." Her dad says. "Bright young fellow here."

"Well only the best for our Alice." Her grandpa replies.

"And he's a Serpent just like Adam was." Her dad says, mentioning her uncle.

"Well Adam is on his way I'm sure he'd love to hear about it."

"I'd love to hear about what?" Her uncle says as he walks in the door.

"Uncle Adam!" 

"Hey kid!" He exclaims as he throws his arms open to hug Alice. "Who's this?" He asks with a knowing smile as he gestures to FP.

"That's my boyfriend, FP."

"Well nice to meet you." Her uncle says as he shakes FP's hand.

"Get this Adam, FP here is in the Serpents."

"Really?"

"Hey! So am I!" Alice says, making sure people don't forget that she's also a badass now.

"Little Alice is a Serpent now?"

"You bet." She confirms with a grin.

"And a damn good one." FP adds on proudly.

"Is that so?" Her uncle looks between the two of them. "Well I sure hope you two are being careful there, the Serpents can get into some nasty stuff and I don't want to see Alice or anyone she cares about getting hurt."

"We're very careful." Alice says.

"Trust me, I wouldn't let anything happen to her." FP says as Alice smiles at him.

_

They spend the whole night talking and laughing with her family and before either of them know it it's nearing midnight. 

"Thank you for having me Mr and Mrs Smith." FP says as he shrugs on his jacket.

"Oh FP you know you're welcome here anytime." Her mom says and both FP and Alice smile.

"I'll walk you out." Alice says, already opening the door to slip out and away from her family.

He hooks his arm around her waist when he follows her out. They walk down her driveway and when they reach his truck he spins her around so her back is against the door and kisses her hard.

She doesn't need any prompting to kiss him back, she holds onto the back of his neck to keep his lips on hers and his own fingers tangle in her hair. 

"Not that I'm complaining... but what was that for?" She asks when they finally break their kiss.

"I couldn't do that all night." He explains, his lips slightly swollen from the force of their kiss.

"Well you can do it again to make up for it." She says as she pulls him in by the sides of his jacket. He smiles as he kisses her again.

"As much as I would love to keep doing this I should probably get home before your family chases me away from their perfect little Alice."

"Fine." She whines with a smirk. "I'll see you tomorrow though?"

"Count on it baby." He kisses her once more before getting into his truck and driving away.

She walks inside with a smile plastered on her face. Her grandparents went to bed over two hours ago in the guest room and her uncle is asleep on the couch. She briefly thinks she could sneak FP in but decides against it considering they nearly got caught this morning. 

So she walks upstairs to her bedroom and is shocked to see her mom sitting on her bed when she opens the door. "Mom? What are you doing in my room? I thought you and dad went to bed."

"Well I needed to talk to you about something. Sit down." Alice's stomach drops at those words and she shuts the door, knowing all too well what her mother has to talk to her about. She sits down on the bed beside her mom and anxiously awaits the awkward conversation ahead of her.

"What do we need to talk about?" Alice asks, playing dumb.

"About the fact that FP was here so early in the morning."

"I told you mom, we made plans to get breakfast at Pop's this morning and then we came back and watched a movie and lost track of time."

"Honey I'm not stupid, I know FP spent the night here."

"I-" Alice starts but anything she wants to say quickly dies off when she knows there's nothing she can do to avoid the fact that her mom caught her.

"He was wearing the same clothes he was wearing yesterday."

"What can I say, FP Jones is an outfit repeater." 

"Alice." Her mom says sternly. "I like FP, you know I do, and I'm happy that you're happy..."

"I sense a "but" coming along any second now."

"I need to make sure you're being safe."

"Mom!" Alice whines, not wanting to have this conversation.

"I'm serious Alice, I knock on your door this morning and it takes you forever to let me in and when you finally do FP is in your room. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened and I just want to make you're being smart and using protection."

"Oh my God mom no! No we didn't do anything, FP just slept over after we watched a movie last night, that's it, I swear." It's the honest truth.

"Okay well how about when that isn't all that happens, are you safe then?"

"No mom!"

"You're not being safe? Are you crazy Alice?" They are... for the most part. There's the odd time when they'll be in the mood and don't have anything on hand, they haven't gotten pregnant yet.

"No I mean I don't want to have this conversation with you." She explains.

"You think I want to be having this conversation with you? My mom had this conversation with me and it's important that I have it with you as well. So are you-"

"Okay mom!" Alice says, quickly cutting her mom off. "Yes, we are being safe. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"That's all I wanted to hear." Her mom says as she stands up. "I left something in your nightstand drawer but looks like you already had your own." Her mom adds as she walks over to the door.

"I-" Alice starts, ready to explain herself but her mom just raises her hand to stop her.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. Goodnight honey."

"Night mom." Alice says with a sigh. 

Her mom leaves and she opens up her nightstand drawer, hoping and praying whatever her mom put in there is not what she's thinking.

But her fears are confirmed when she sees a box of condoms in her drawer, further back under a notebook are the ones she already had in there for when FP sneaks in.

She flops down onto her bed and buries her head into her pillow, ready to sleep away the humiliation.


	29. Cliff Jump

"Honey, FP is here!" Her father calls from downstairs.

She rushes downstairs to open the door and smiles at him. "Hi!" She exclaims.

"You're awfully cheery today," he says as he steps in and leans down to kiss her. "hi baby."

"I missed you." She tells him as she snakes her arms around him.

"We were together two days ago." He points out as he laughs.

"It was a long two days." She leans up to kiss him again just as her mom walks into the room.

"Oh... sorry kids." She says as she looks between the two of them. "I just wanted to know what time you were planning to be home at?"

"I'm not entirely sure mom, we're going out with Fred and Hermione."

"Well don't be out too late, I expect you to be home before dawn."

"I'm always home before dawn mom."

"Just wanted to make sure. Have fun you two."

"What was all that about?" FP asks when her mom disappears into the next room.

"I'll tell you later, lets go." He nods and follows her outside. "Where exactly do Fred and Hermione want to go anyway?"

"Told me it's a surprise."

"That's never good."

"Maybe you'll be surprised and we'll have a good time, Al," he says, squeezing her thigh. "just keep an open mind."

"I hope you're right." She says and he flashes that crooked smile of his at her.

"I'm always right."

"No, I'm always right." She corrects and he laughs.

"Right, how could I ever forget." She smiles at that. "So what did your mom mean?"

"Oh, right. She knows we're having sex." Her nearly crashes the truck at that revelation.

"What!" He exclaims. "How did she find out?"

"She saw you in my room early in the morning and filled in the blanks. And then she put a box of condoms in my nightstand and saw the ones we already have in there so that just sealed the deal."

"God, she's never going to let us be alone again. You'll never be aloud to stay at the trailer with me again will you?"

"Please, now that she knows we're being safe about it I'm sure she'll be fine. Just give her time. After all she did just find out her precious baby girl is being defiled by the boy from the wrong side of the tracks."

"Please, you love being defiled by me." He says with a cocky smirk.

"That I do." She smiles and leans back in her seat. Just enjoying the rest of the ride to wherever they're supposed to meet Fred and Hermione.

_

"Finally you two are here! What took you so long?" Hermione asks them when they pull up.

"Stop off on the side of the road for a quickie?" Fred teases.

"Not this time." FP answers with a laugh. Alice just rolls her eyes and walks over to Hermione.

"So where are we going?" Alice asks.

"Just follow us." Hermione answers mysteriously.

"Are you plotting to murder us or something out here? What do you two have planned?"

"Just trust us Alice, live a little."

"Just don't get me killed please and thank you, I'd kind of like to live past 17."

"Please were not going to kill you now hush and follow."

Alice looks to FP with narrowed eyes. "If this is boring you owe me." He just laughs and takes her hand, kissing it before pulling at her to follow him and the other couple.

They lead the way and FP smirks part way trough when he realizes where they're going; cliff jumping. Alice notices his smirk and questions him. "What are smiling about?"

"Nothing love, keep walking." He kisses her cheek as she gives him a questionable look but keeps walking.

"And here we are!" Hermione exclaims excitedly. Alice follows them and looks out over the cliffs she's now standing on. 

"You could have told me we were going cliff jumping so I could have come more prepared." Alice says, gesturing to her outfit. She's got a t-shirt and shorts on, hardly swimming attire.

"You don't need a bathing suit, Al." Hermione says as she pulls off her top. "As long as you got undergarments on you're good to go."

"Fine by me." Alice says, lifting her own shirt over her head and shimmying out of her shorts. She turns to see FP admiring the lace of her undergarments and she swats at his shoulder lightly. "You're staring Jones."

"You're beautiful Smith." He replies without missing a beat and causing her to blush against her will. 

"I don't see you stripping. Get to it." She says and he smiles as he complies, stripping down to his boxers.

"Happy?" He smirks, gesturing to his state of undress.

"Very." Alice replies, looking him up and down.

"Alright you two, keep it in your pants." Fred quips and Alice rolls her eyes at the comment.

Fred is the first one to jump and FP follows after. "How's the water?" Hermione asks Fred with a smile from her place on top of the cliff.

"Jump in and find out for yourself." Fred answers.

"I second that." FP says, yelling up to Alice. "Alice, baby, get in the water." She doesn't need more convincing before she's jumping into the water below her.

She swims up to the surface and is met with a smile by FP. "See? I told you you might have a good time. You should listen to me more often." He teases.

"Shut up." She says with a smile before swimming closer to kiss him. 

Hermione jumps in next and the four friends waste away the day just swimming and floating in the water.


	30. 4th of July

FP came whirling into the Whyte Wyrm and scanned the bar for Alice. She had gotten the job as bartender/waitress a week ago. She was in need of some source of income and getting a job at the Wyrm meant she could make some money and still manage to hang out with FP and their Serpent friends.

He spotted her carrying a tray to the bar to get more drinks and he smirked as he snuck up to her. He threw his arms around her and she squealed in surprise. And then he started peppering kisses up her neck and cheeks and she realized who it was. "I'm working FP." She says with a smirk but she's far from bothered and he knows it.

"It's the Fourth of July, why did you choose to work today?" He pouts as she turns around in his arms.

She kisses his pouty lips and then pulls herself out of his arms and gestures for him to sit down at the bar as she walks behind it. "Because, Fourth of July people like to party and drink, and if they come here to do that it means lots of tips for me." She explains.

"I get it. By the way you look hot babe. Very patriotic." He says as he looks her up and down, laughing a little. 

She's dressed for the holiday, has got on a pair of denim shorts and a red, white and blue tank top. She's got her blonde hair pulled back with an American flag bandanna she's fashioned into a headband and she's got American flag temporary tattoos on her cheeks. She's the cutest damn thing he's ever seen.

She swats at him with a towel when she sees him laughing. "Viper said we'd probably get more tips if we dressed for the occasion, I feel like a walking embarrassment."

"I think it's cute."

"Well "cute" better get me some good tips." She says before pouring a drink for someone at the bar. "You want anything?" She asks him.

"Beer?"

"Coming right up." She grabs a bottle of his favourite beer, pops the cap off and hands it to him.

"Thank you." He says as he takes a sip. "So do I get some sort of discount for being your boyfriend or what?" He teases.

"Sadly no," She says before a naughty smirk crawls upon her lips and she moves closer to him, leaning over the bar. "but you can skip the tip and tip me later." The way she emphasizes the word "tip" tells him she's got plans for him later on and he can't help but smirk at that thought.

"I'll make it worth your while." He tells her.

"Good." She leans in to kiss him and Viper rounds the corner just in time to catch her. 

"Smith I warned you about making out with your boyfriend at the bar. You can do that on your break." He says with a sly smirk since he's just playing around. As long as the bar is filled with happy customers he doesn't care what she does, just as long as she does her job while doing it.

"Sorry Viper." She calls after him before turning her attention back to FP. "See? You're distracting me and getting me in trouble. Now go hang out with Tallboy, he's over there." She points to somewhere on the other side of the room.

"Alright fine. I'll just go away since my girlfriend doesn't want me." 

"Poor you." She kisses him once before shooting him away. "Now go!"

_

"Waitress? Oh waitress?" FP sings out as he calls for Alice. She turns behind her and rolls her eyes when she sees FP gawking at her. She turns her attention back to the people she's taking drink order from and then walks over to him.

"What do you want now?" She asks him.

"I would like another beer and your number." He teases, 

"Give it a rest FP," she smiles. "I'm off at eleven, keep it in your pants until then, I have a surprise for you later."

"What kind of surprise?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." She answers. "Do you want anything Tallboy?"

"Another glass of scotch?"

"Got it, be right back." She walks away and FP grins as he watches her go. 

"It's a wonder to me that she hasn't dumped your ass yet, you're a real pain to be friends with sometimes, I can only imagine what it's like for her dating you." Tallboy says with a chuckle.

"I just like pushing her buttons, she's extra hot when she's mad."

"One of these days she's gonna knock your ass out, I wouldn't put it past her after what happened between her and Penny."

"Oh God don't remind me."

"Anyway, how's she liking working at the bar?"

"She's-" FP starts but is cut off by Alice herself answering as she walks up to the table with their drinks.

"She's enjoying it. Except for all of the drunken idiots that try to hump my leg and the ones that get mad and throw peanuts at the wall when I don't get their order fast enough. Other than that, it's a blast, especially when friends stop in."

"Well you do a great job despite all of that." FP tells her with a smile.

"Thanks babe but it's only my second week." 

"Then you'll just keep getting better." 

"What time is it?" She asks as she reaches for his wrist to read his watch. "I have another forty-ish minutes and then I'll meet you back here?" She questions and he nods. She kisses him and then goes back to the bar.

Tallboy heads out ten minutes before Alice's shift is over. And when it's finally eleven o'clock she comes strolling over to FP, downing a shot of tequila as she walks. 

He moves to stand up but she puts her hand up and signals for him to sit back down. He does as he's told and she straddles his hips. She takes his face in her hands and kisses him deeply, sweeping her tongue into his mouth. He can taste the bitterness of the tequila but there's something he loves about it, tequila always reminds him of her.

When she pulls away she lays her head on his shoulder and wraps her arms around him. "You okay?" He asks, a little concerned.

"Just tired, I've been on my feet all day going back and forth for hours." She explains. "But yes, I'm okay." She kisses him softly to reassure him when he raises an eyebrow at him and then she smiles. "Now for your surprise." She takes his hand and pulls him up with her. 

She leads him outside and to the parking lot. She had convinced her parents to give her the car for the night on one condition; no driving while intoxicated.

So she gets into the car and FP gets in the passenger seat. "You sure you're in good enough shape to drive?" He asks, thinking about the tequila shot she had downed just minutes before.

"I'm in better shape than you. That was my first shot. You've had three beers." She says as she starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot.

"Two and a half, thank you very much." She rolls her eyes with a smile as she drives.

She parks at Sweetwater river and gets out of the car, quickly followed by him. She pulls a blanket out of the backseat and takes his hand, leading him to the bridge over the river. "My surprise is a bridge?" He asks, a little confused.

"No silly, just wait a few minutes." She kicks off her shoes and sits down on the bridge, letting her feet hang over the edge. "Sit down." She urges, pulling on his hand. He smiles and does as he's told.

She drapes the blanket over both of their shoulders and looks at the sky. He just watches her, for one, he loves watching her and two he's confused as to why she brought him out to sit on a bridge.

Then as if on cue a loud bang sounds and a firework explodes in the sky. So that's why she brought him here. They have a perfect view of the fireworks that are being set off in Picken's Park. 

"Surprise!" She exclaims. "I know you were a little disappointed that I was working tonight and we couldn't do anything to celebrate so when I found out they were doing fireworks in the park I thought we could catch the show here. Just us."

"It's great baby!" He tells her excitedly as he wraps an arm around her and kisses her temple. "I think we might actually have a better view here than they do in the park, there's no crowd of people to block the view." He says as he pulls her closer, just enjoying the firework show with her.

"I love you." She tells him as she's laying her head on his shoulder. 

"I love you more." He tells her and she lifts her head to kiss him. 

Fireworks go off again and this time the two love sick teenagers don't know if it's the fireworks in the park or the fireworks between the two of them.


	31. Skinny Dip

FP downs the last swallow of beer in the bottle. He had stopped by for one quick drink before heading over to pick up Alice for their date and the got into conversation with Tallboy.

"Okay I got to go before Alice kills me for being late." FP says as he stands up.

"Not even one more drink?" Tallboy questions.

FP shakes his head. "I'd rather not be intoxicated while driving and end up killing myself and Alice."

"Fine," Tallboy says with a sigh. "tell Alice I say hi."

"I'll tell her you tried to get me drunk before picking her up."

"No thanks I'd rather stay on her good side. Especially after seeing her take on Penny."

As if on cue Penny's voice rings through the bar. "Speak of the devil."

"Forsythe. What a pleasant surprise, no Alice around?" Penny says, smiling wickedly as she walks up to FP.

"About to go pick her up." He says with gritted teeth.

"Why pick her up when you could hang around here instead? You know we're so much more fun."

"I'd much rather pick her up then hang out anywhere you are."

She fakes a pout. "Oh I'm so hurt. You just wait until she breaks your heart, it's bound to happen FP, whether you want to admit it or not. Just give it time."

"I'll take my chances." He says as he starts to walk towards the door. 

"Give Alice my best wishes, would hate to see anything happen to her." He slowly turns around on his heels and glares at her.

"Penny if you're planning something you better rethink that. If you or anyone you know even lay a finger on her I'll-"

"You'll what FP?" She challenges. "Kill me? Hurt me? Call the cops? Try it. I'm not scared of you or your little girlfriend."

FP doesn't say anything else, just walks out of the bar with a sick feeling in his stomach. Tallboy chases after him. "What was all that about?" He asks.

"If you hear anything about Penny planning something you tell me immediately. I have a bad feeling she's gonna pull something and I don't want Alice caught in the middle of it."

"I'll keep an ear out."

"Thanks." And with that he gets in his truck and drives the short distance to Alice's house.

_

Inside the Whyte Wyrm Penny was planning something devious. She snuck into the back room when no one was looking and looked around until she found what she was looking for; the work schedule.

She searched down the list and smiled wickedly when her eyes fell onto the name she was looking for: Alice Smith. 

_

"Alright, what's going on with you? You've been acting weird since you picked me up." Alice asks FP as they sit on the hood of his truck.

"Nothing, I just ran into Penny earlier."

"Poor you." Alice says. "What did she say about me this time?"

"It's not so much what she said but what she implied."

"Well what did she imply?"

"She said she would hate to see anything happen to you."

"Please, she'd be first in line to see something happen to me."

"That's what I'm afraid of." He says and she looks at him with a quirk of her eyebrow. "The way she said it... it just seemed like she was planning something, that she wanted to hurt you, or wanted someone else to hurt you."

"I'm sure you're just reading too much into it."

"I don't know Al, I'm worried about it, I don't want anything happening to you."

"Well neither do I but tonight was supposed to be fun, we're supposed to be on a date in case you forgot."

"I know, I'm sorry." He says as he leans over to kiss her. "Let's keep looking at the stars." He suggests as he curls an arm around her waist and leans back against the truck hood.

"I have a better idea." She says as she slips down off the hood. He watches as she pulls her top over her head and unbuttons her shorts, letting both pieces of clothing fall to the ground. She smirks at him as she walks closer to the river bank. With her back to him she undoes her bra and turns her head to look at him. "You coming Jones?" 

He nods quickly and starts undressing himself and she laughs as she shimmies out of the final piece of clothing on her body. She wades into the water and soon feels strings arms wrap around her middle and lips kissing up the side of her neck.

She lets her head fall back onto his shoulder which in turn gives him better access to her neck, making her sigh happily. "Turn around." He whispers in her ear.

She does as he asks and smiles up at him when she can see his face. His hands run up and down her sides as he admires her; naked under the moonlight for his eyes only. 

A wicked smile crawls upon his lips and she raises an eyebrow at him curiously and then she feels a cold splash of water hit her skin. "You're a dead man." She says as she splashes him back.

He swims further into the water, splashing her as she goes, listening to her contagious, carefree giggles and revelling in the sound of it. 

She shoves him over when she catches up to him and he grabs her hand as he falls into the water, effectively dunking her under with him. "Damnit, that backfired." She says with a laugh when she comes up the surface.

"Worked out for me." He laughs and she narrows her eyes at him before letting out a smile. "Come here." She swims closer to him and he wraps his arms around her waist, picking her up.

Her legs instantly wrap around his waist and she leans her head down to kiss him. "I love you."


	32. Wounded

"Well hello there beautiful." FP says as he walks up the bar.

"Hello yourself." She says, leaning over the counter to kiss him. "Beer?" She asks, knowing him all too well.

"Please." He answers and she smiles as she pops the cap off of a bottle and hands it to him.

"Tallboy's over there somewhere," she says, waving her hand in the direction of wherever Tallboy is. "I'm sure he's waiting for you." FP nods and heads in the direction she pointed as she gets back to work.

"Hey you're here!" Tallboy exclaims, already a little tipsy and FP laughs at his friend as he sits down.

The night goes by without a hitch and FP sits and talks and drinks with his Serpent friends for hours. Alice stops by the table frequently to take drink orders and bring drinks over and will stand there and talk for a few minutes before getting back to the bar.

Hours go by and everyone seems to be having a good time until the sound of eerie laughter drifts closer to the building. Everyone looks around the room, blood running cold as they listen to the voices, the laughs, the cheers and hollers. FP and Tallboy make eye contact, knowing exactly who those sounds belong to: The Ghoulies. 

Sure enough the doors of the Whyte Wyrm fly open and in Come the Ghoulies, waving their signature weapons and looking so creepy it send a chill through the room. 

In a split second the room descends into chaos, everyone trying to get Ghoulies off of Serpent land. FP looks over to the bar and sees Alice watching the scene unfold. He practically sprints over to the bar. "Alice, you have to hide." He tells her.

"Where?" She asks, a flash of panic in her blue eyes. 

"Anywhere, just get the hell away from here. Go!" He says and she quickly runs out from behind the bar as FP turns to look at the fight happening in front of his eyes. The entire building is in chaos; the Serpents fighting the Ghoulies.

Little did FP know that Penny Peabody had come in earlier and watched as Alice ran away, watched as she hid, and whispered into the ear of a Ghoulie where exactly she is.

A Ghoulie grips FP by the collar, startling him, and he reaches behind him to punch the guy. He tackles him to he floor, delivering blow by blow, until he sees red. He doesn't register much else after a punch is delivered to his face and his ears ring as he hits the ground. 

He vaguely registers someone yelling and the Ghoulies filing out of the building. "Shit, you okay man?" Tallboy asks as he pulls FP up by the arm.

"I'm fine, just got a busted cheek." FP says as he wipes the blood from his cheek. "Where's Alice?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen her since before the Ghoulie raid."

"She's probably still hiding. I'm gonna go find her."

He walks into every room he can get into and calls for her but he doesn't get an answer. 

He walks into a room at the very back of the building and looks around, seeing things tipped over papers littering the floor. His heart sinks. "Alice?" He calls out. "Al?"

"FP." A small voice says. He follows the sound to behind the desk and sees Alice crouched behind it, shaking in fear. 

"There you are. Everything's okay now, the Ghoulies are gone. She doesn't answer, just looks at him with tears in her eyes as she slowly looks down. FP sees blood on her hand and she slowly moves it away, revealing a deep gash in her stomach. A stab wound. "No!" FP exclaims as he starts to panic. Alice, his perfect, innocent, beautiful Alice got stabbed by a Ghoulie. "No, no, no, baby." He says as he places his hand over the wound. "Come on, we have to get you out of here." He scoops her up into his arms and she yelps in pain.

He carries her out of the room and into the main part of the bar. Collective gasps come from everyone in the building as they look at them, more specifically at Alice who's shirt and hands are soaked in her own blood. 

"Shit. What happened?" Viper asks as he walks over to them. 

"She got stabbed. I need to get her to the hospital." FP says as he tries to get past everyone.

"Give me your keys." Viper says.

"What?"

"Give me your keys. I'll drive, you sit in the back and put pressure on the wound, try to stop the bleeding as best you can." FP nods and tells him the keys are in his jacket pocket. He retrieves them and walks out of the building, FP following close behind.

FP gets in the back seat and Alice clings onto him. Blood starts coming out of the corner of her mouth and he wipes it away with his thumb. Her eyes start getting heavy and he lightly pats her cheek. "Don't close your eyes baby, just stay with me. Keep your eyes open and on me. Don't close them." She looks up at him, staring into his eyes as hers gloss over with tears.

He places his hand over the wound on her stomach and presses down, putting pressure on it to try and stop the bleeding, or at least control it until they make it to the hospital.

Her eyes start closing slightly and he panics, praying he isn't losing her already. "Please don't go baby, stay with me. You're going to be just fine, I won't let anything bad happen to you, just stay with me."


	33. Waiting Room

The sound of high heels on the tile floor catches FP's attention. "I'm looking for my daughter, Alice Smith." Alice's mom says to the receptionist lady.

"Mr and Mrs Smith?" FP says.

"FP, oh my God, how is she?" Her mom asks in a panic.

"They took her into surgery a little while ago."

"What exactly happened?" Her dad asks.

"She was working and then the Ghoulies, a really bad gang, busted in and raided the Wyrm. I told her to hide but one of them must have saw her because when I came to find her she had a stab wound."

"My little girl was stabbed?" Both of her parents look about ready to burst into tears at any moment.

"I'm so sorry." FP says, his own voice shaky. "She managed to stay awake the whole ride here and she was conscious when they took her into surgery. I had pressure on the wound the whole time so it prevented a lot of the blood from coming out."

"Thank God you were there." Her mom says, her dad nodding in agreement.

"Alice Smith's family?" A nurse calls.

"Yes." Her parents say in unison.

"She is stable and you can see her. Family members only." They turn to FP with a sad look. 

"It's okay, go ahead. I'm sure she'd much rather see you two when she wakes up." FP tells them. "Just... give me updates?"

"Of course." Her mom says.

They follow the nurse to Alice's room and FP slumps down in his seat, thankful that she's okay. He must have fallen asleep at some point because he wakes up to Alice's parents shaking him.

"Is everything alright? Is she okay?" He asks, sitting up in a panic.

"Yes, calm down, she's perfectly fine. A little sore but that's to be expected." Her dad explains.

"She's asking for you. The nurse said you can go in, room 212." 

"That's good. I'm glad she's okay." FP says before breaking down. 

"Oh dear, what's wrong?" Her mom asks him, concern filling her voice.

"I just... I've never been so scared in my entire life. And I can't help but feel partly responsible."

"FP this isn't your fault, those hooligans came in and did this."

"It was planned, I know it was." FP says, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. "I have this ex, Penny, and she's extremely jealous of Alice. She can't accept that our relationship is over and I'm with Alice now, so I'm pretty sure she called the Ghoulies in to hurt her."

"That's not your fault still. And that's not even what matters, what matters is that Alice is okay, and she is, and it's thanks to you that she is."

"It is?"

Her dad nods. "If you hadn't of been there then our little girl might still be there, someone may have never brought her to the hospital and she may not be with us right now." He says. "I don't even want to think about what state she'd be in had you not been there."

"She's really okay?" FP asks, sniffling.

"She's perfect. She was laughing and joking. Asked us if the blood would come out of her shirt." Her mom tells him and he laughs.

"What room did you say she's in?"

"212." He nods and then stands up to go to her room.

He walks in and stands in the doorway, just watching her. Her head turns and she sees him and the smile that bursts onto her face warms his heart. "You're here!" She exclaims, waving him over.

"I haven't left since I brought you in." He tells her as he walks over to her hospital bed. She pulls him down to kiss her. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore, but ten times better now that you're here to keep me company." She says. "I mean don't get me wrong, I love my parents and all, but I would much rather have you here to keep me company."

"Well I'm to going anywhere unless I'm kicked out so you're in luck." He tells her, taking her hand in his as he sits down on the edge of her bed. "You scared the hell out of me." He says.

"I'm sorry." She says sadly.

"It's not your fault. I'm pretty sure Penny set that whole thing up, but I can't help but feel responsible for it."

"You are not responsible for this." She tells him sternly. "Penny is a jealous bitch and the fact that she sent a gang in to try and kill me is on her conscious not yours."

He gives her a sort of sad smile. "I was just scared I was going to lose you."

"You're not getting rid of me that easy." She tells him, making him laugh and in turn making her smile. "That's the handsome man I love. She exclaims now that he finally looks happy again.

"I love you so much." He tells her, raising her hand to his lips to place a soft kiss on it.

"I love you too." She tells him. "Now give me a real kiss, my lips aren't broken." She quips.

He laughs but leans down to kiss her nonetheless.


	34. Nightmare

FP sits in the hospital bed beside Alice as her parents sit around it, all of them talking and laughing easily.

"We have the next few days off of work but who's going to stay at home when we have to go back?" Her mom asks her dad.

"Well you could take off the first week, I'll take off the second and then we can see how she is after that." Her dad suggests.

"Guys, I'm not broken or in a cast or anything. I just got stabbed. I don't think you need to take two weeks off to take care of me. It's not like I'll be immobile." Alice says.

"Well we know that honey but we just want to make sure we're there in case anything happens. Like if you blow a stitch or something. And you won't be able to reach stuff for a while because it'll hurt to stretch that high, so you'll need someone there."

"So why doesn't FP stay with us for a bit then?" Alice suggests. "I mean it's summer so he won't be missing school or anything, and that way neither of you will have to take off time from work."

"I don't know, honey."

"If it's just reaching for stuff and making sure I don't blow a stitch and bleed to death I'm pretty sure FP can handle that." Alice says before turning to him. "Only if he wants to of course."

Her parents turn to him. "I mean, if it's okay with you two, I'd be more than happy to help." He says. "I'm tall and can reach stuff for her. I can cook, not very well, but I can cook enough to keep her alive." Her parents laugh.

"Alright. But no funny business." Her mom warns. 

"Mom!" Alice exclaims.

"What? I'm just warning you two."

"I second that." Her dad says. FP just laughs as Alice rolls her eyes, burying her head in FP's shoulder.

_ 

"Okay, so when you two wake up we won't be here. If you need anything at all, or if anything happens while we're gone both of our work numbers are on the fridge." Her mom says as Alice and FP get ready for bed. "And feel free to eat whatever you want, just make sure you do eat. Taking all those pain meds on an empty stomach won't feel great."

"I know mom, the doctor told me that. Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"We're just worried about you that's all. I mean this isn't just a flu bug or something, you were stabbed." Her dad says.

"Believe me, I know. But I'm okay, I'm feeling a lot better and the doctor said I'm healing nicely. I'll be good as new before you know it." She says, walking up to her parents and kissing both of their cheeks. "I love you."

"We love you too." Her mom says.

"Goodnight kids." Her dad says as he and her mom walk to their bedroom.

"Night dad, night mom."

"Night Mr and Mrs Smith!" FP calls.

She turns off her bedroom light and closes the door before turning to FP. She leans up on her tippy toes to kiss him before getting into her bed.

He gets in bed beside her and turns on his side to talk to her. "It's kind of nice not having to be quiet when I'm in your bed." He says with a chuckle.

"Yeah it's nice being able to talk without being afraid my parents are going to catch us at any moment."

"And the fact that I don't have to wake up bright and early tomorrow morning and sneak out your window."

"Yeah that's a bonus. I can never fall back asleep after you leave."

"At least you don't have to jump out of a tree."

"Good point." She says with a laugh. "I love you."

"I love you too." He leans over to kiss her and then tucks himself up close to her, wrapping his arms around her, careful not to hurt her. "Night Al."

"Goodnight." She whispers, pulling his arm around her further and making him smile. 

They're only asleep for a few hours before he feels Alice stirring in her sleep. He thinks she's just trying to get comfortable or that maybe she's in pain but then she lets out a whimper and starts mumbling things like "stop, no, help me." and he knows she's having a nightmare.

He lightly shakes her, trying to wake her up. "Alice," he whispers, watching as a tear rolls down her cheek and she whimpers again. "baby, wake up." He tries again, shaking her a little harder until her eyes shoot open. 

She looks over at him with tear filled eyes, she looks so scared it breaks his heart. "I dreamt about it." She says, voice shaky.

"I know, but it was just a nightmare. You're safe." He tells her, running his fingers through her hair to calm her down. She nods and moves a little closer to him. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her temple. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, no one is going to hurt you again." He promises.

He's going to make sure whoever hurt her gets what they deserve and he's going to make damn sure that Penny get's a taste of her own medicine.


	35. Unknown Visitor

"FP you do know I can walk on my own right?" Alice says to FP as he helps her down the stairs. "The doctor told me I was all healed up, I'm fine." The stabbing was two weeks ago and she's feeling perfectly fine, FP and her parents, however, are still cautious and not letting her do much. 

"I know you can walk but I feel better if I'm helping you. Just in case." He explains.

"Well I love you and all but everyone hovering over me is starting to piss me off." He just laughs and removes his arms from around her.

"Fine, go ahead. But if you fall don't come crying to me because it'll be your fault." He says, trying to sound convincing but she sees right through him.

"I'll be fine." She takes his hand and then leads them into the kitchen where her parents are sitting at the table.

"Good morning you two." Her dad cheerfully says.

"Morning." Alice and FP reply, in sync with one another.

"Looks like you're feeling much better, walking on you're own and everything." Her mom comments, smiling at her daughter.

"Been fine for a while mom, it's not like they cut off a limb, I've been able to walk on my own since it happened."

"We just didn't want to risk you getting hurt, that's all." Her dad says.

"I know, and I appreciate that, but I'm fine. I've been fine." She pulls down two bowls from the cupboard and looks to FP. "Do you want cereal?"

"Please." He answers, walking over to her. She pours cereal and milk into both bowls and hands him one.

"So," her mom starts as they join them at the table. "now that you're feeling better I think it's time FP goes home. After all, this arrangement was only while you were healing." 

"Fine." Alice pouts, maybe she should've kept quiet so he could stay with her a little longer. It's nice waking up next to him and having him there all the time. 

"I'll pack up my stuff after breakfast." FP says. "Thanks for letting me stay here, by the way."

"Of course, it's been nice to be able to go to work and not worry." Her dad answers with a smile.

After breakfast he and Alice head upstairs to pack his bag. "I don't want you to go." She says as she folds up some of his clothes, placing them neatly in his bag.

"I don't want to either but the deal was I stayed here until you got better, we're lucky enough to have gotten that long."

"That's true. Maybe I should've milked it a little longer so you could stay."

"It's not like we're never going to see each other again, Al." He chuckles.

She smiles. "Well I know that but I've gotten so used to falling asleep and waking up with you and spending every hour of the day with you, I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

He walks over to her and places the last few belongings of his in the bag and then cups her face in his hands. "I guess I'll just have to start sneaking in here again." He dips down to kiss her, breaking it only to add to his previous words. "Or you're just going to have to come stay at mine." He kisses her again and she holds him to her with a hand on the back of his neck.

"Definitely." She mumbles against his lips.

After doing a double check to make sure he has everything they head downstairs. "Were going to go drop FP's stuff off at the trailer and then we're gonna go to Pop's and the drive-in. I'll see you later." Alice tells her parents.

"Have fun you two." Her parents day and then they're out the door. 

As they drive over to FP's trailer Alice's hand moves to his leg, slowly inching higher and higher. "You're going to get us into an accident." He chuckles.

"Why don't we go for a late lunch instead?" She suggests seductively. 

He looks over at her and smirks. "I think that can be arranged." 

They pull up to his trailer and see a car parked outside. "Who's car is that?" Alice asks as they get out of the truck. 

He looks at it, confused as to who's here. "I don't know." The car looks slightly familiar but he can't put his finger on it.

He takes her hand and leads them inside, keeping her behind him just to be safe. There's no one in sight but there's leftover boxes and beer cans on the coffee table so someone has definitely been here. 

"Hello?" FP calls out. "Is someone here?" 

They hear a door open and then hear footsteps coming to the main part of the trailer. A few seconds later a tall man with dark hair comes into view. She doesn't know who he is but something about his eyes looks familiar to her. She looks at FP and sees his mouth hanging open slightly. 

"FP? Boy is that you?" The man asks.

"Dad?"


	36. Mr Jones

Alice's mouth gaped open at his words. FP's dad is standing right in front of them. But why? FP told her his dad was a businessman and left him years ago, why would he come back after choosing to leave?"

"Are you going to say hi or are you just going to stand there with your mouth hanging open?" His dad asks, with a chuckle that sounds so much like FP.

"I..." FP starts but trails off. "I'll be right back." He turns Alice around and gives her a nudge to move towards the door. He follows her out with another glance at his father.

He walks straight past her and paces back and forth. "So that's your dad?" She questions, trying to break the award silence between them. He nods. "Yep. That's him."

"I thought you said your dad left years ago?"

"He did."

"So why is he back now? He chose to leave you so why is he back all of a sudden?"

FP takes a deep breath and then walks over to her, taking her hand in his own. "I'll walk you home." He says to her, leading the short walk to her house. They walk in silence and then he sighs. "He isn't actually a business man." FP admits. "Well, he is, but not the kind you're thinking." He corrects and her eyebrows knit together as a puzzled look comes over her face.

"What do you mean?"

"He's a Serpent just like you and me." She looks at him, even more confused then before, but knows he's not done explaining. "He was doing a drug run and ended up getting caught by the cops... so I wasn't lying when I said he left, he was sentenced to seven years in prison, guess they let him off early."

"Oh my God, I'm sorry." Alice says, squeezing his hand. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Well I wasn't exactly going to admit that my father is a criminal on our first date. And then... I don't know, he never came up in conversation so I never even thought to tell you the truth. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I get why you didn't tell me." She stops him from walking when they reach her house and steps in front of him. "How are you feeling?"

"Kinda want to throw up." FP says, a soft chuckle coming out with the delivery of the words. "It's just weird having him back, I'm not used to it, he's like a stranger to me. But I know I have to talk to him, I can't exactly hide from him."

"Will you tell me how it goes?" 

"Yeah I'll drop by afterwards." He tells her and she nods. She pulls him into a hug when she sees how zoned out he is by this whole situation. He hugs her back tightly.

"I love you." She whispers. 

He kisses the top of her head and then leans down to properly kiss her. "I love you too."

He watches as she goes into her house and then when she's out of sight he walks back to his trailer. It gives him a chance to think. 

Before he even knows it he's back at his trailer. He takes a deep breath before walking up the steps and opening the door. He leans against the door post and looks at his father sitting on the couch. "Why are you back?" He asks.

"Got out early." He explains vaguely. "Good behaviour."

"That's good I guess."

"You don't seem too happy to see me." His dad comments.

"Just weird, that's all. I've gotten used to being on my own all these years and now you're here and it's just weird."

"Well I've been back for a little over a week now but you weren't here."

"Yeah there was a situation with the Serpents and Alice got hurt, I was staying with her for the past two weeks while she healed."

"I assume Alice was the girl that was with you?" His dad questions.

FP nods and walks over to join his dad on the kitchen, smiling as he thinks about Alice. "Yeah, that's Alice."

"Girlfriend?" FP nods in confirmation. "How long have you two been seeing each other?" 

"Since September so," FP mentally counts it up in his head. "ten months." 

"That's a long time." His dad comments, smiling at his son as he nods. "You love her?"

"With all my heart." FP confirms. "Best thing that ever happened to me."

"She know you're a Serpent?"

FP nods. "She's one too. Actually I asked her out when I saw her at school and she said she was busy that night. I went to the Wyrm that night and she was there doing the dance."

"Well that's a story." 

"Oh trust me, I never let her forget it."

"Well, if you two are up for it, I'd love to meet her."

"I'll have to check with her but I'm sure she'd like to meet you." FP says.

"It's settled than."

_

"Baby, you seem more nervous than I am." Alice comments a week later as they walk up the front steps of his trailer.

"It's just weird, I mean I've never had to introduce my dad to any of my girlfriends."

"I get it, but it'll be fine," she tells him, cupping his face with her hands. "I promise." She kisses him softly when he nods and then opens the door to his trailer.

"We're here." FP announces once and Alice walk into the trailer.

"Hey kids." His dad says as he comes into view. "I'm assuming you're Alice."

"I am." She smiles at him. "Nice to meet you Mr Jones."


	37. Need a Break

FP's head hits the back of Alice's couch as he lets out a long sigh. His hands nonchalantly run up and down her legs as they lay in his lap. He's been adjusting to living with his dad again and it's been a hellish two weeks. 

He's beyond happy to have his dad back home, he did miss him while he was gone, but the trailer had become his own little place. It was just him, no one else. Like a little sanctuary he could escape to every night.

But now that his dad is back he wants to catch up with his son, find out what he's missed over the past four years. And while FP had expected that he's not exactly fond of it. He's all for bonding with his dad, and he has, they spruced up his truck, repainted the porch, all the while drinking beer and catching up.

Alice had came by often throughout the past two weeks and he was more than grateful for that. She knew he was having a hard time adjusting so she wanted to make it a little easier for him by being there with him. He didn't think he could love her more.

He had told her the last time she came over that he needed to get away, just get out of the trailer and away from his dad for a little bit and Alice had smoked that beautiful of hers and promised to help him out.

So now he's at her house, her feet in his lap, the windows open and letting Alice summer breeze drive through the house. "Can we go to Pops?" He asks, looking over at her. She smiles and nods as she stands up, taking his hand. "Let's go babe."

"Let me guess," Pop says as he comes up to the two teens at their booth. "Burger, fries and a strawberry milkshake for Alice and a burger, onion rings and a chocolate milkshake for FP?"

"Do we really come in here that often that you know our orders?" FP chuckles as he hands over both he and Alice's menu's.

"I never forget a loyal customers order." Pop replies. "Your milkshakes will be out in a couple minutes."

"Thanks Pop." Alice smiles at him, earning herself a smile back.

They sit there, just talking and laughing with one another and their both so caught up in their own little world that they don't even notice the bell above the door ring. That is, until someone yells out for them.

"Hey pornstars, how's it going?" They'd know that voice, and the nickname he so lovingly gave them, anywhere.

"Hi Fred." They say in unison when they turn to see him and Hermione at the entrance of the diner. "Wanna come sit down?" FP asks.

"Love to." Fred says as he and Hermione walk over to their booth. Alice slips out from her side of the booth and joins FP on the other side.

"Looks like my other favourite customers showed up." Pop exclaims as he notices Fred and Hermione now sitting in the booth with their friends. "Do you two want your regulars?"

"Yes please." Fred answers.

"Can I get extra fries with mine?" Hermione asks sweetly.

"You got it." Pop smiles as he walks into the kitchen.

The four of them enjoy their meals, and FP's glad to spend some time with people that aren't his dad. He loves him, but he needed a break.

After they pay and are about to leave FP lays his head on the table and groans. "I don't want to go home." 

"I know baby." Alice says as she lays her hand on his back.

"Why don't you want to go home?" Fred questions.

"Shit, I've been so busy with him I haven't had time to tell you. My dad is out of the slammer."

"Senior's out? I thought he was still serving a few more years?"

"Got out on good behaviour, though I'm not sure how, lord knows he was probably running drugs through that place somehow."

"Well at least he's out." Fred says. "Why don't you want to go home?"

"I've spent every waking moment with him, and don't get me wrong, it's been great having him back, but I just need a break you know?"

"Yeah I get it." He says, curling an arm around Hermione as he leans back against the booth. "You can crash at my place tonight if you want to?" 

"Yeah?" FP questions.

"Yeah. Parents won't mind. And plus that way you don't got to climb any trees." FP looks at him confused and raises an eyebrow in question. "I mean sneaking into Alice's bedroom dummy."

"Ah, gotcha." FP says. "I just have to drop Al off at her place and grab some clothes from the trailer."

"That's fine, I have to bring Hermione home anyway so just swing by when you're finished." FP nods. 

They sit and talk a little while longer, all of them having a good time and not wanting it to be over so soon.

"Hey I have an idea!" Fred exclaims. "Why don't we all go on a camping trip?"

"Camping?" Hermione repeats, scrunching her nose.

"Yeah! We can go for a few days maybe even a full week or something," he looks over at FP. "gets you out of the house for a bit."

"I'm in." FP says, almost immediately.

"Me too." Alice answers as well.

"Well I guess I'll go too then." Hermione reluctantly says.

"Then it's settled, we can work out the dates tomorrow if everyone's free?" All three of them nod. "Alright then. Now let's go home, all that food is making me tired."


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was requested as a oneshot idea by Aw_too_Bad but I wanted to add it into this book instead (just changed up a little) just to break up all the drama that is going to ensue next chapter and the chapters coming.

FP shows up at the Smith household and Alice's mom lets him in. He's got his truck packed full of camping necessities. Two tents, sleeping bags, pillows, Hermione's, Fred's and his own luggage. They'll be meeting he and Alice at the campsite and everyone agreed that FP should be the pack mule since he has the truck to carry it all. 

He walks upstairs to see if Alice is ready and sees her packing last minute things into her bag. "Hey, you ready for a full week of camping?" He teases, knowing she's not exactly ecstatic about going for a week. 

"Well I don't exactly have a choice now, do I?" She replies, zipping up her bag before walking over to kiss him. "But I'm sure it'll be fun, plus a whole week away with you sounds pretty close to Heaven to me." 

He smirks and wraps his arms around her. "Well it wont just be us, Fred and Hermione will be there too." 

"I know that, but I don't mind them being there. And besides," she starts, leaning up on her tippy toes to pepper kisses all over his face. "it's only us at night." He smirks and catches her lips in a proper kiss. 

"That's very true. You ready to go? All packed?" 

"Yep." She grabs her bag off of her bed and then stops. "Wait, I almost forgot." She rummages through her bedside table before pulling out a box of condoms. She shows it to him and he laughs as she throws it in her bag. 

"Fred and Hermione are going to kill us." 

_

When they arrive at the campsite they see Fred and Hermione sitting on a log beside an unlit fire. "Finally!" Hermione exclaims as they get out of the truck. "We've been here for almost an hour, what took you guys so long?" 

"We had to make a stop on the way." FP explains holding up a paper bag to the two of them. 

"What was so important that you need to stop for?" Fred asks. 

"Well none of you geniuses brought food so we had to stop and get some." 

"And we brought alcohol." Alice adds. 

"Yes, and we brought alcohol." 

"Wouldn't expect anything less." Fred comments. 

They take a long time to set up the tents and then after everything is all settled and the sun is starting to set they gather around the campfire with a bag of marshmallows. 

"So, you feeling any better now that you're away from your dad and everything?" Fred asks as he makes a s'more. 

"Yeah, a lot better. It's nice to just be away for a bit, ya know? I mean I love the man to death I've been living without him since I was thirteen. I've grown accustomed to being on my own and it's weird having someone there 24/7 now." 

"I get it." Alice says. "It's kind of like he's a stranger now, right? Like he's been gone for so long you hardly know the man." 

"Yeah. And he's trying to get to know me again, trying to make up for the missed years but it's just so much so quick and I don't know how to handle it all." 

"How are the Serpents handling having him back? I mean he was their King, wasn't he?" Fred asks. 

"Your dad was the King!" Alice exclaims. 

FP smiles at her excitement. "Yeah, did I leave that part out?" 

"Yeah, just like how you left out the part about how your dad was actually in jail not some business man who abandoned you." Alice says, crossing her arms over her chest. "You made him sound like some horrible monster of a parent." 

"Al, it was our first date, I didn't exactly want to come right out and tell you that my dad was a criminal." 

"Even after we started dating, you should've told me then." 

He leans over and kisses her temple. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, Al. Now please, let go of the grudge." He says before turning his attention to Fred. "And to answer your question, Fred, the Serpents are loving having him back. It's like no time passed at all for them." 

"Well that's good I guess."

"I mean, I'm not surprised they're handling it well, they've been campaigning for his release since he got thrown in the slammer." 

"I think you just have to give it time. I mean you're lucky enough to get another year with him before you go off to college or do whatever the hell it is you want to do after high school. He wasn't even supposed to be out yet, enjoy the time." Fred encourages. 

"Yeah, enjoy the time, babe. You'll regret it if you don't." Alice agrees with Fred. She leans her head on his shoulder and wraps her arm around his. 

"I know you're trying to help but you're just making me feel guilty about ditching my dad for a camping trip that was designed purely to get away from him." FP says making both Fred and Alice laugh. 

Hermione is quiet and they all realize that she's been quiet the whole time they've been talking. They peel over at her chair and see her curled up in a chair with a bag of marshmallows on her lap, fast asleep. "Well, someone had too much sugar and zonked out." Fred laughs. 

"You want some help bringing her to the tent?" FP offers. 

"Nah, I got her. I think I'm gonna head to bed too, night guys." Fred says as he scoops Hermione into his arms and walks over to their tent. 

"What about you, are you tired?" FP asks Alice as he curls his arm around her. 

"No. But I am cold, and I don't exactly want to get eaten by some wild animal or something so can we go in the tent?" 

FP laughs and nods, gesturing towards the tent. "Lead the way." He says and she does just that, taking his hand and pulling him to their tent. 

They change into their pyjamas and then zip themselves into a sleeping bag, cuddling up to each other for warmth. It's August, so it's not cold but it's definitely cooling down as fall approaches. 

"You think my dad knows the reason I went on this last minute camping trip was to get away from him?" FP asks. 

"I don't know, I mean, I'm sure he'd understand, he's probably having a hard time adjusting too." 

"Ya think?" 

"Yeah, I mean he's been living in a prison for years, there's not exactly privacy there, he's surrounded by people on the daily and cut off from everyone outside. The you he knows is thirteen year old you, you're someone completely different now. It's an adjustment for both of you, and if he seems clingy it's because he's just trying to adjust to having you back in his life, he wants to make up for what he missed." 

"I don't know what I would do without you." FP says with a smile. 

She tilts her head up to kiss his jaw and lays her head back on his chest. "I love you." 

"I love you too." 

They lay there in silence for a few minutes, the crickets and wind are the only sounds around them. "FP?" Alice whispers. 

"Yeah?" 

"Are you tired?" 

"No... why?" He questions and as an answer he feels a small foil packet land on his chest. He laughs and he can feel her smiles against his skin and she starts kissing up his neck. "Fred and Hermione are going to kill us in the morning." FP tells her, flipping them so he's on top. "That, or they're going to interrupt us." He catches her lips in a proper kiss and she smiles. 

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."


	39. Getaway

"Alice?" Forsythe Sr. questions when he sees the girl sitting at the bar of the Whyte Wyrm. 

"Hi, Mr Jones." She greets with a smile. 

"My son with you?" 

"No, he's doing a run, he'll be back soon though." 

"He's doing a run?" His eyes grow wide. "I go to jail for a few years and suddenly my son is drug mule! Any chance you know where?" 

"Yeah." She pulls a napkin out of her pocket and hands it to him. "He wrote me the address in case something went wrong." 

"Thanks kid." And with that he's on his way. 

He drives to the address Alice gave him and as he approaches it he sees his son's truck outside and knows he's in the right place. He sighs and shakes his head as he walks into the old barn. "Forysthe Pendleton Jones what the hell do you think you're doing?" FP jumps at the sound of his voice and only calms when he turns to see his dad standing in the doorway all alone. 

"Dad, you scared the shit out of me." 

"Yeah well you scared the shit out of me. You're doing drug runs now? You do know that's what landed my ass in jail right?" 

"I know that, dad. I'm careful when I'm doing runs and I'm quick so I have less of a chance of getting caught." 

"Boy you need to be smarter, you can't be doing drug runs at your age. If you get caught you'll get yourself thrown in the slammer and miss it on the good year of your life, do you want that?" His dad yells at him and FP tries his hardest to focus on unloading the drugs while he does. 

"No I don't want that dad but you're distracting me, so if you don't want that either you can either help me or shut up until I'm done." 

Forsythe Sr. steps forward to help his son unload, and it's just a short amount of time until he hears sirens. He can feel his heart rate pick up as he thinks about his son getting caught and thrown in jail.

"Cops." He states as his blood runs cold.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Give me that." He yanks the bag out of FP's hands. "Go." 

"What?"

"Get out of here, go!"

"No."

"Boy, listen to me. You may be a Serpent now and be loyal to them, and believe me I'm proud of you, but I'm not going to let you get caught for some shit like this, you're too young to go to jail. So get out of here while you can, get on your bike and go as far away from here as you can."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine."

"What if they catch you?"

"Then I go back to jail."

"No. You're not going back, just come with me leave all of this here."

"FP would you just listen?" His dad yells. "Our fingerprints are all over this, even if we leave they'll track us down. I'll move it all and hide it the best I can. Now get the hell out of here, I'm fine with going back to jail if it means you never have to see the inside of one. Now get out of here... Go!" 

FP just nods slowly and then bolts out of the barn as the sirens get louder. He hops on his bike and speeds away driving so far away he nearly hits Greendale.

He eventually rounds back to the Southside and walks into his trailer. When he sees nothing but empty takeout bags and beer bottles, stuff reminiscent of his dad's presence, he breaks down. 

He sinks to the floor in tears and cradles his head in his hands. He's never exactly been a religious person but right then he was praying with all his might that his dad would walk in the door any second. 

At Alice's house her parents call her downstairs, telling her she needs to see whatever it is they're looking at. 

When she comes to the living room she freezes in place at what she sees. There on the tv is footage of FP's dad being handcuffed and shoved into a police car. The newsperson reads out the story. "Once a convict, always a convict. Forysthe Jones arrested again for drug possession and distribution. The arrest comes just weeks after an early release from jail after committing the same crime years ago." 

"Oh my God." Alice breathes out. Her parents look at her with sympathetic expressions. "I need to go check on FP." She runs out of her house and goes to FP's trailer. 

She doesn't bother knocking, just lets herself in. She sees him on the floor and is by his side in an instant. "Baby..." She starts, trailing off as he looks up at her with tears running down his face. 

"Did they-" he starts to ask but he can't manage to get all the words out. She knows what he's asking though and nods softly.

He opens his mouth to speak again but nothing comes out and instead he clings onto her, holding her like she's his lifeline, and in a way, she is. 

"I'm sorry." She whispers, hugging him tightly as he cries. "I'm so, so sorry baby." 

"He just got out!" FP cries. "He just got out of that place and now he's going back. All so I wouldn't have to go myself. This is all my fault" 

"No, it's not your fault. He asked me for the address and I gave it to him, if anything it's my fault." 

"It's not your fault, you didn't know the cops would be coming. You didn't know." He wipes his cheeks and reaches for her hand, holding onto it tightly. "He was back, my dad was back, we were getting to know each other again, I finally had my dad back and now he's ripped away from me again. It's not fair." 

She doesn't know what else to say, and besides, nothing she could say could ever make this better for him. So instead, she focuses on just being there for him, holding him as he crumbles down. She's all he has now.


	40. Visitation

Alice stays with FP for a couple days, making sure he doesn't do anything stupid due to how he's feeling. She knows he's bound to do something. He's been bottling up his feeling since the night his dad got arrested. He cried to her about it and then never spoke of it again. She knows he needs to talk about it, knows he needs to see his dad, visit him but FP refuses. 

"Baby, I was thinking, we don't have anything to do today so why don't we go visit your dad?" 

"Nice try, Al, but I don't want to." 

"I think you need to though. I think you need the closure." 

"I'll see him eventually but not now." 

"So what's eventually to you?" 

"I don't know, Alice!" He snaps. "But what I do know is that I can't handle seeing him in jail right now and knowing it's all my fault he's in there again. So please, don't make me go." 

"Okay... okay. You don't have to do anything until you're ready to." They sit in silence for a few minutes and then she think of her own little plan. "Hey, I'm just gonna go visit my parents for a bit, will you be okay here?" 

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You don't need to babysit me." He tells her making them both smile. "I love you." 

"I love you too. I'll be back later!" She kisses him before walking out of the trailer. 

She borrows the car from her parents and then leaves again. She has other plans than visiting her parents. 

She drives further into the town of Riverdale until she comes to the Sheriff Station. When she walks inside she sees Sheriff Johnson sitting there. "Can I help you, miss?" He questions as she walks over to him. 

"Um yes, I'm looking to visit Forsythe Pendleton Jones?" 

"You are?" 

She nods. "I'm here on behalf of his son." 

"Ah, I see." He gestured for her to follow him as he speaks. "Lots of time the children of the inmate have a hard time coming here to visit." 

"Yeah, he's definitely having a hard time." 

He radios to a prison guard and explains that she's here for a visitation and to bring out Forsythe Sr. They wait there for a minute or so until a guard comes to the door. 

He leads her through the visitation area and her heart breaks as she looks at all the people. Some are crying, some are yelling, some aren't saying anything at all, they're just staring at the person on the other side of the glass. 

The guard points to a chair in front of a glass pane and tells her Forsythe will be right out. While she waits she looks around the room some more, there's a young boy who looks to be about 5 years old sitting on a woman's lap with the phone to his ear. He has the biggest smile on his face and her heart aches at the sight. 

A knocking on the glass brings her back to reality and she looks to see Forsythe Sr. sitting in front of her. She picks up the phone and he smiles. 

"Didn't expect to see you here, when they told me I had a visitor I thought it was FP." He tells her. 

"He's too scared to come and see you." She admits. 

"Oh. Well, I can't blame him. He never liked coming here the first time around."

"He's just... he's having a hard time."

"He is?" She nods and he lets his head fall into his hand. "Shit. I was scared he would do this." He looks at her through the glass and sighs into the phone. "Some of the Serpents visited me the first time I was in here and told me FP was distancing himself from people, even Fred, if you can believe that. I don't want him to do that this time. He needs to not shut people out but he won't let people in, doesn't want to seem weak."

"How can I help? I'll do anything. I hate seeing him so upset."

"Make him talk to you. I can almost guarantee that you're the only one that boy will let his guard down around. You're the only one that he is going to talk to." He tells her. "Sit down with him and ask him to talk to you. Don't take no for an answer. Let him know it's okay to cry, and hold him if he does. Let him know it's okay to be angry, be angry with him. Just let him know you're there. He needs you now, Alice... more than ever." 

"I've tried it, he cried the night it all happened and now he refuses to acknowledge it." 

"Don't give up on him. Please, Alice, don't give up on my boy." He turns his head to discreetly wipe a tear from his cheek. 

"I'll never give up on him... I promise." 

He smiles at her. "That boy is head over heels in love with you, kid. Trust me when I say that you're the only person he'll trust to talk about this." 

"I'll do my best." She assures him, giving him a smile. 

"That's all I ask." 

_

After the visit she goes back to FP's trailer and sees him sitting on the couch with a bowl of chips on his lap, a cold beer in his hand and his eyes glued to the television. 

"Hi baby." He greets as she walks through the door. She smiles in response but doesn't say another word as she takes the beer from his hand and sets it on the coffee table along with the chip bowl. She turns off the TV and he looks at her confused. "Al, what are you-" she presses her finger to his lips to shush him, effectively stopping him from finishing his sentence. 

"We need to talk." She says as she sits down beside him on the couch. 

A worried expression comes over his face. "Are you breaking up with me?" He asks her, the fear clear in his voice.

"No, God no." She reassures him. "I went to visit your dad today. I know you haven't been able to go yourself so I wanted to be able to tell you myself that he's okay."

"And he is?"

"He is."

"That's good." 

"Talk to me." She tells him and he raises an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Talk to me about your dad, about everything that happened. You've been so bottled up since it happened and I'm starting to worry about you. Please baby, I'm begging you, talk to me... I'm a judgement free zone, you know that." 

He opens his mouth to speak but then his bottom lip quivers and his eyes fill with tears. "FP," She whispers her heart breaking at the sight of him crumbling in front of her. "come here." He wraps his arms around her, burying his face into her chest as he starts to cry. She hugs him tight, letting her hands run up and down his back as she holds him. She'll hold him all night if it helps him, if that's what he needs. She's not going anywhere.


	41. Support

Alice stays with FP for a couple days, making sure he doesn't do anything stupid due to how he's feeling. She knows he's bound to do something. He's been bottling up his feeling since the night his dad got arrested. He cried to her about it and then never spoke of it again. She knows he needs to talk about it, knows he needs to see his dad, visit him but FP refuses. 

"Baby, I was thinking, we don't have anything to do today so why don't we go visit your dad?" 

"Nice try, Al, but I don't want to." 

"I think you need to though. I think you need the closure." 

"I'll see him eventually but not now." 

"So what's eventually to you?" 

"I don't know, Alice!" He snaps. "But what I do know is that I can't handle seeing him in jail right now and knowing it's all my fault he's in there again. So please, don't make me go." 

"Okay... okay. You don't have to do anything until you're ready to." They sit in silence for a few minutes and then she think of her own little plan. "Hey, I'm just gonna go visit my parents for a bit, will you be okay here?" 

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You don't need to babysit me." He tells her making them both smile. "I love you." 

"I love you too. I'll be back later!" She kisses him before walking out of the trailer. 

She borrows the car from her parents and then leaves again. She has other plans than visiting her parents. 

She drives further into the town of Riverdale until she comes to the Sheriff Station. When she walks inside she sees Sheriff Johnson sitting there. "Can I help you, miss?" He questions as she walks over to him. 

"Um yes, I'm looking to visit Forsythe Pendleton Jones?" 

"You are?" 

She nods. "I'm here on behalf of his son." 

"Ah, I see." He gestured for her to follow him as he speaks. "Lots of time the children of the inmate have a hard time coming here to visit." 

"Yeah, he's definitely having a hard time." 

He radios to a prison guard and explains that she's here for a visitation and to bring out Forsythe Sr. They wait there for a minute or so until a guard comes to the door. 

He leads her through the visitation area and her heart breaks as she looks at all the people. Some are crying, some are yelling, some aren't saying anything at all, they're just staring at the person on the other side of the glass. 

The guard points to a chair in front of a glass pane and tells her Forsythe will be right out. While she waits she looks around the room some more, there's a young boy who looks to be about 5 years old sitting on a woman's lap with the phone to his ear. He has the biggest smile on his face and her heart aches at the sight. 

A knocking on the glass brings her back to reality and she looks to see Forsythe Sr. sitting in front of her. She picks up the phone and he smiles. 

"Didn't expect to see you here, when they told me I had a visitor I thought it was FP." He tells her. 

"He's too scared to come and see you." She admits. 

"Oh. Well, I can't blame him. He never liked coming here the first time around."

"He's just... he's having a hard time."

"He is?" She nods and he lets his head fall into his hand. "Shit. I was scared he would do this." He looks at her through the glass and sighs into the phone. "Some of the Serpents visited me the first time I was in here and told me FP was distancing himself from people, even Fred, if you can believe that. I don't want him to do that this time. He needs to not shut people out but he won't let people in, doesn't want to seem weak."

"How can I help? I'll do anything. I hate seeing him so upset."

"Make him talk to you. I can almost guarantee that you're the only one that boy will let his guard down around. You're the only one that he is going to talk to." He tells her. "Sit down with him and ask him to talk to you. Don't take no for an answer. Let him know it's okay to cry, and hold him if he does. Let him know it's okay to be angry, be angry with him. Just let him know you're there. He needs you now, Alice... more than ever." 

"I've tried it, he cried the night it all happened and now he refuses to acknowledge it." 

"Don't give up on him. Please, Alice, don't give up on my boy." He turns his head to discreetly wipe a tear from his cheek. 

"I'll never give up on him... I promise." 

He smiles at her. "That boy is head over heels in love with you, kid. Trust me when I say that you're the only person he'll trust to talk about this." 

"I'll do my best." She assures him, giving him a smile. 

"That's all I ask." 

_

After the visit she goes back to FP's trailer and sees him sitting on the couch with a bowl of chips on his lap, a cold beer in his hand and his eyes glued to the television. 

"Hi baby." He greets as she walks through the door. She smiles in response but doesn't say another word as she takes the beer from his hand and sets it on the coffee table along with the chip bowl. She turns off the TV and he looks at her confused. "Al, what are you-" she presses her finger to his lips to shush him, effectively stopping him from finishing his sentence. 

"We need to talk." She says as she sits down beside him on the couch. 

A worried expression comes over his face. "Are you breaking up with me?" He asks her, the fear clear in his voice.

"No, God no." She reassures him. "I went to visit your dad today. I know you haven't been able to go yourself so I wanted to be able to tell you myself that he's okay."

"And he is?"

"He is."

"That's good." 

"Talk to me." She tells him and he raises an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Talk to me about your dad, about everything that happened. You've been so bottled up since it happened and I'm starting to worry about you. Please baby, I'm begging you, talk to me... I'm a judgement free zone, you know that." 

He opens his mouth to speak but then his bottom lip quivers and his eyes fill with tears. "FP," She whispers her heart breaking at the sight of him crumbling in front of her. "come here." He wraps his arms around her, burying his face into her chest as he starts to cry. She hugs him tight, letting her hands run up and down his back as she holds him. She'll hold him all night if it helps him, if that's what he needs. She's not going anywhere.


	42. Carnival

"Final day of summer before senior year, can you believe it? One more year and then we're free." FP exclaims, throwing his arm around Alice. 

"You better not forget about me after high school." 

"Believe me baby, I won't." He promises, kissing her softly. "Besides, I'm taking you wherever I go." 

"Fine by me." Alice smiles, her nose crinkling as she does. He smiles too and kisses her again, longer this time, until Fred interrupts it. 

"You two are sickening. Usually I throw up after the tilt-a-whirl but I might throw up because of you two this time instead." 

"We're in love Freddy, deal with it." FP says, cupping Alice's face and kissing her again. 

"I'm in love too and you don't see me shoving my tongue down Hermione's throat." 

"Fine, fine. Let's go, scrambler is open." FP says, pointing towards the ride. 

The four of them get on the ride, Fred and Hermione in one seat, Alice and FP in the other. The ride starts moving throwing the couples around. Alice squishes FP everytime the ride goes to a corner and they laugh the whole time. 

"Shit." Alice hisses out once they get off the ride. 

"What?" 

"Penny is here." She says, gesturing with her eyes to Penny. 

"Just ignore her, baby." 

"FP she's practically murdering me with her eyes, how do I ignore it?" 

"Focus on me, I'm a much better view anyway." He steps in front of her, blocking her view of Penny. 

"That's true." She smiles and pulls his lips down to meets hers by a grip on the back of his neck. "Now come on babe, we're going on the Ferris wheel." She says, tugging on his hand and dragging him to the ride. 

The wheel turns slowly, rising the couple to the top. "The town is so beautiful from up here, I never noticed." 

"You know, I think you're more beautiful." 

"You're sweet." She cups his face and kisses him softly. "I wish we could just stay here in our own little bubble forever and not go back to school." 

"I know, I do too." He kisses her temple and curls his arm around her. "I love you." 

"I love you, too." She kisses him again, longer this time, until they hear someone yelling at them. 

"Hey, pornstars! Banging in a Ferris wheel cart probably isn't the safest idea I'd knock it off now." Fred yells from the cart above them. They laugh as Hermione sweats at his shoulder for being so crude. 

"That's not where that was heading, Frederick." Alice says, glaring up at him. He sticks his tongue out at her and turns back around. 

After the ride comes back to the ground they decide to play a few games. FP walks over to a test your strength game and winks at Alice as he picks up the mallet. She laughs and leans against the sign as he prepares to strike. He hits as hard as he can and it goes all the way to the top, sounding an alarm that indicates he won. "That was really sexy." She tells him, gnawing softly on her bottom lip. 

The man working the game hands FP a teddy bear as his prize. "For my girl." He says as he hands it over to Alice. 

She smiles brightly and kisses his cheek. "Thank you." 

She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him into a hug. As she looks past his shoulder she catches Penny's eye. The girl is glaring at her and FP. 

Alice's stomach turns as Penny watches them and she can't help but gain a bad feeling.


	43. Plotting

FP wakes up as the phone rings through the trailer. He groans and slips out of bed, walking to the living room to answer it. "Hello?" He grumbles. 

"Hello, Forsythe." Penny's wicked voice speaks on the other end of the line. 

"Great, this is exactly who I wanted to talk to first thing in the morning. What do you want, Penny?" 

"I want you to meet me early at school." 

"Huh? Why?" 

"Meet me and find out." 

"Penny I can't, I have to pick up Alice and I can't be late for class again or they'll send my ass to detention." 

"Well then you better not be late. And besides, Alice can drive herself, you don't need to go pick her up every morning." 

"I know I don't have to, I like to." 

"Whatever, I couldn't care less about her if I tried, just meet me at your locker in 15 minutes." 

"Penny I'm not-" 

"Come or your girlfriend will pay the price." 

"Don't you lay a finger on her." 

"Meet me at school and I won't have to." 

"Fine." He hangs up the phone with a huff and dials the Andrew's number. 

"Hello?" Mrs. Andrews cheerily chirps into the phone. 

"Hi, Mrs Andrews, it's FP, could I speak to Fred?" 

"Sure, dear, I'll go get him!" He can practically hear the smile in the woman's voice. 

"Thank you." A few second later Fred speaks into the phone. "Freddie! I need you to pick up Alice for me!" 

"What? Where is she?" 

"At her house. I just can't pick her up, I have some last minute stuff to do." 

"Can't she drive herself? I don't want to be late." 

"Fred please? I'm worried about something and I don't want her being alone." 

"Is everything alright?" 

"It will be. Just, please, do this for me?" 

There's a pause on the other end of the line and then Fred sighs. "Fine. But if she's not up when I get there I'm dumping a bucket of ice water on her." 

"Fine, just as long as you're with her. But I'm not paying for your funeral when she kills you for dumping ice water on her." 

"Right, maybe I shouldn't do that." 

____________ 

Fred gets ready for school and then drives to the Southside of town to pick up Alice. Her mom answers the door. "Hi, Mrs Smith, I'm not sure you know me. I'm Fred Andrews, Alice's friend. FP was supposed to pick Alice up but he's running a little late and asked if I could." 

"Alice has talked about you before, please, come in." She steps aside and Fred smiles at her as he walks inside. "She's not awake yet but I can go wake her." 

"That's alright, I can do it." She nods and smiles at him. "First door on the left." 

"Al!" Fred calls as he walks upstairs to her bedroom. He pushes open her bedroom door and sees her fast asleep still. "Alice. Wakey, wakey." 

She lifts her head off of her pillow and stares at him as he stands in her doorway. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on your way to school?" 

"FP asked if I could swing by and pick you up on my way, he said he had something to take care of before school." 

"I can drive myself Fred, I don't want to make you late." She tells him as she gets out of bed, yawning and stretching as she wakes up fully. 

"Can't let you do that, FP said I'm to drive you to school." 

She rolls her eyes. "Fine. I'll be down in a few minutes." Fred nods and turns on his heel to walk out of her bedroom, shutting the door behind him. 

He heads downstairs and walks into the kitchen where her parents are. "Is she up?" Her mother asks. 

"Yes, she's just getting ready, she said she'll be down in a few minutes." 

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure we've met." Her father says, peeking up at him from behind his paper. 

"Oh, right, I'm Fred Andrews, I'm a friend of Alice's." He extends his hand to the man. 

"Nice to meet you. Usually it's FP here every morning, eats all the food." Her dad jokes. 

Fred smiles. "That sounds like him. He had something to do this morning so he asked if I could pick up Alice instead." 

"Did he say what he had to do, dear?" Her mom asks. 

"No. Your guess is as good as mine." 

"That's strange." 

"Yeah, but I'm sure it's nothing, probably just had to meet with a teacher or something, if it was anything serious he'd let me know." 

"He's a good kid that boy, would hate to see anything bad happen to him, especially since Alice is so crazy about him." Her dad says. 

"I'm sure he's just fine." Fred reassures them. 

Alice comes downstairs and into the kitchen, grabbing a muffin from the counter. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go." She presses a kiss to both of her parents cheeks and then walks out the door with Fred. 

____________ 

"Did he say what it is he had to do?" 

"Alice, I told you already, he didn't tell me." 

Alice freezes when she sees Penny Peabody leaning up against a very uncomfortable looking FP. She slips something into his jacket pocket and FP looks wildly around the hallways for anyone who might've saw. 

She storms over to her and Fred tries to keep up. She taps her shoulder and Penny whirls around to look at her. "Care to explain why you're traumatizing my boyfriend?" 

"It's nothing, Alice, we're just having a friendly conversation." Penny answers with a roll of her eyes. 

"Mhm, is that why he looks like he's about to shrivel up into nothing?" 

"It's okay, Al." FP says. "We're finished here." 

"Right." Penny glares at them both before walking away. 

"What the hell was that about?" Alice asks. 

"It's nothing, baby, don't worry." He leans in and kisses her but she pulls her head back. 

She reaches out her hand and digs into his pocket, pulling out whatever Penny put in there. She pulls it out and sees that it's fine bags of weed. "FP are you fucking crazy? If you get caught with this shit your ass is getting sent to jail!" She shoves the bags into her bag and FP tries to grab them. 

"Alice give them back!" 

"No! I'm not letting you get sent to jail, you think I can live without you?" 

"I'm not going to get sent to jail, I'll throw them out. Say I lost them." 

"Why did she give you them in the first place?" 

"She wants me to sell them." 

"Why is she recruiting you of all people? Why not Tallboy, or Mustang or someone?" 

"I don't know. She called me this morning asking me to meet her early, that's why I got Fred to pick you up, I didn't know what she wanted." 

"I could've drive myself, instead poor Fred had to drive all the way to the Southside to come get me." 

"I didn't want you going alone." He tells her, cupping her cheek with his hand. 

"Why not?" 

"Penny threatened to hurt you and I don't ever want to risk you getting hurt. I don't know what I'd do with myself." 

Alice smiles sadly at him and wraps her arms around him. "I'm not going anywhere baby, don't worry." 

Penny Peabody has different plans.


	44. Phone Call

After her last class of the day Alice walks over to FP's locker. "Hi, baby." He greets her, leaning over to kiss her softly. 

"How was your class?" She asks him. 

"I'm just glad it's over. You?" 

"It was alright, I guess." She studies him, her eyes glaring at the pocket of his jacket. "Sell any of those dime bags?" 

"Alice, keep your voice down." He shushes her. 

"Oh, are you scared of getting caught? Maybe you should have thought about that before you told Penny you'd sell for her!" 

"I wasn't putting your life at risk by saying no to her, Al. You're too precious for me to ever risk." He strokes her cheek with his thumb and she tries to force a smile. 

"What's wrong?" He asks her, curling his arm around her shoulder as they walk outside to the parking lot. 

"I'm just worried about you is all." 

"You don't have to be worried about me, Al." 

"After seeing what happened to your dad can you blame me for being worried?" He spins her around and cups her face with his hands. 

"That's not going to happen to me. I'm going to be careful." 

"Your dad was careful to and look how that worked out." She looks down at the ground, kicking at the dirt. 

FP places his finer under her chin and angles her face up to look at him. "I'm not going anywhere, baby, believe me." 

"Okay." 

"No, I gotta hear you say it." 

"I believe you." 

"That's my girl, I love you." 

She smiles as he leans in to kiss her. "I love you too." She mumbles against his lips. 

____________ 

Later that night she waits until her parents have gone to sleep and then grabs the phone, dialling the number she obtained from Tallboy. 

"Hello?" Penny Peabody's voice speaks on the other end of the line. 

"Penny? It's Alice." 

"Oh, Alice, what a surprise this is. To what do I owe the pleasure?" 

"I know what you're doing with FP, cut it the fuck out. I'm not letting him get thrown into jail because you are a jealous bitch." 

"Calm down, Alice, I would never intentionally get Forsythe arrested. If he's stupid enough to get caught than that's his fault." 

"No, he's stupid enough to listen to you. Little birdie told me you threatened my life so he would do your bidding." 

"I may have said something along the lines of that, yes." 

"Cut it out, Penny. He's done nothing wrong. He's finally getting back to his old self. After his dad got sent back to jail I for sure thought I lost the old FP. I don't want him to slip back to that." 

"And he won't. It's not like I'm getting him to deliver barrels of cocaine or anything, he just has to sell dime bags on the down low." 

Alice takes a deep breath, her hands rolling into fists and her fingernails pinching the skin of her palm. "What can I do to make you get him out of this?" 

She hears Penny laugh wickedly on the other end of the phone. "I suppose I could substitute him for someone else." 

"Do it!" Alice says immediately. 

"And I think I have the perfect substitute in mind." 

"Who?" 

"You."


	45. Set Up

"Al!" FP calls for her as he runs up to her after class. "Guess what?" 

"What?" She asks curiously. 

"Penny came up to me as I was walking out of class and said I was off the hook and that she would get someone else to do her dirty work for her. She took the drugs and everything, I'm completely off the hook." 

"That's great, baby!" She grins at him, trying not to think about the fact that Penny will soon be giving her the drugs instead of FP. 

"You ready? I'll walk you to class." He offers. 

"I just have to go to the bathroom first." 

"Okay, I'll wait for you." She nods and raises up on her tippy toes to kiss his cheek. 

She walks to the girls bathroom and knocks in the weird pattern Penny told her to do on the phone to indicate it's her. She heard the door unlock and then sees Penny smiling wickedly at her on the other side of the door. "Alice, I was worried you weren't going to show." 

"Well I'm here, so let's get this shit over with. Give me the stuff and give me the address, I'll drop it tonight." 

Penny nods and digs her hands into her pockets, pulling out the dime bags she took back from FP. "Here." She hands Alice the weed and then digs her hand into her other pocket. "Oh and here's a little bonus seller." She pulls out a small bag of cocaine. 

"Penny are you fucking insane?" Alice hisses. 

"You're my drug mule now, Alice. You wanted to protect your boyfriend so badly." 

"Penny you were making him sell weed, not the hard shit." 

"That doesn't matter, what matters is that you get all of this to this address." She hands her a sticky note with an address scribbled on it. 

"Fine." Alice slips the drugs into her bra so they won't fall out and be found and then storms out of the bathroom, instantly running into FP. "Shit. You scared me." 

"You okay, Al?" He asks as his hands come to cup her cheeks. 

"Yeah, just running a little late for class that's all." 

"You've never cared about that before. You're flushed, is everything alright?" 

"I just... ran into Penny in there, that's all." 

"What did she say to you?" She sees his fist clench so she reaches out her own to entwine their fingers. 

"The usual, that I'll never be good enough for you or the Serpents, that you will eventually come crawling back to her, a bunch of stupid shit." 

"She's full of shit." He tells her, kissing her forehead before taking her hand and walking down the hall towards her class. 

____________ 

That night, as promised, she goes to the address Penny gave her, the drugs weighing down her pockets. 

She pulls up outside the drop off place and slides open the door the run down shack. She pus her hands into her pockets to pull out the drugs and that's when a flashlight shines on her. "Freeze!" 

Shit.


	46. Jail Cell

"Put your hands where we can see them!" The sheriff yells. Alice sighs and raises her hands. "Empty your pockets of the drugs." 

"So can I put my hands down for that?" Alice asks, narrowing her eyes at the cop. 

"Watch the attitude missy." 

Alice rolls her eyes and sticks her hands in her pockets, throwing the baggies to the ground. "That's all of them." 

"You're under arrest for the possession and attempted distribution of drugs." 

"What? No, you can't!" The officer starts listing off her rights as he handcuffs her. "Those weren't mine! Someone threatened me to do it!" 

"We got an anonymous tip and in that they told us you'd claim they weren't yours. That's what all drug dealers say." 

"I'm not a drug dealer!" 

"Your pockets full of drugs say otherwise, now get in the car, there's a cozy jail cell waiting for you." 

"Do I at least get a phone call?" 

"One, so you better hope they pick up." 

____________ 

"You want to make that phone call now, Smith?" The sheriff asks as he comes up to Alice's cell. 

"I'd love to." She says, standing up and walking over to the bars. "Does this mean you take off my handcuffs?" 

"For now, yes. Stick out your hands." Alice does as she's told and the sheriff takes off her handcuffs. "Let's go." 

He brings her to a room and places a phone on the table. "One phone call. Make it count." 

"Yes, sir." Alice snootily says as she starts dialling FP's number. "What, no privacy in prison?" The sheriff shakes his head. 

"Hello?" FP's groggy voice says on the other end of the line. 

"Hey, babe, it's me." 

"Al? What's up, you alright?" 

"I'm fine. Are you busy right now?" 

"No, I was sleeping but if you need something." 

"I need you to come pick me up, as soon as you can." 

"Okay, I'm on my way, where are you?" Alice stays silent. "Al? Baby, where are you?" 

"In jail." 

"What? How the hell did you end up in jail?" 

"It's a long story, I'll tell you when you get here." 

"How much is your bail?" 

"Shit. I didn't even think about that, one second." She takes the phone away from her ear and looks at the sheriff. "Care to tell my boyfriend how much my bail is so I can get the hell out of here?" 

The sheriff narrows his eyes at her but takes the phone, telling FP the amount of her bail. "He wants to talk to you again, but wrap it up, this is prison, not a party." 

"Really? You had me fooled." She takes the phone from him. "I'm back." 

"I'm going to get you out of there, I promise, it just might take me a little longer than is ideal." 

"How much longer?" 

"I'm not sure. I'll hopefully have enough by morning." 

"How do you expect to rack up that much in one night?" 

"No idea yet but I'll figure it out. In the meantime, be nice and don't back talk them, you don't need to get yourself anymore time." 

"I'll do my best, I love you." 

"I love you more." 

____________ 

He laughs as soon as he hangs up from her, he's not even surprised that she landed herself in jail, he just wants to know how she landed herself in jail. 

He walks into his bedroom and opens up his nightstand drawer, popping open the false bottom and counting the cash in it. He falls short by $300 and with a sigh he dials the number of Hogeye. "Hello?" He answers gruffly. 

"Hogeye, it's FP." 

"Jones you better have a good reason for calling me this late." 

"I need your help. Alice is in jail and I'm short on cash to pay her bail, I know one of the rules is that the Serpents always have each other's back and I was hoping you could help." 

"How much do you need?" 

"$300." 

"If I can get you half can you get the other half?" 

His eyes land on his guitar in the corner of the room. "Yeah, I can get it." 

"I'll drop it off at 6 A.M. on my way to the Wyrm." 

"Thank you." 

"Hey, we take care of our own. You know that, kid." 

____________ 

The next morning Hogeye comes by as promised and gives FP the cash he needs. 

He gets on his motorcycle, his guitar on his back, and drives to the nearest pawn shop he can find. "I'll give you this guitar for $150." 

"We can appraise it for you and give you a better price." 

"That won't be necessary." FP says, anxiously waiting to get Alice out. 

He gets the cash and speeds off to the prison to get his girl back. 

"I have her bail money in cash, let her out." He tells the sheriff, placing the envelope of money in front of him. 

The sheriff picks it up and counts the money in it. "Follow me." 

The sheriff brings him down the cell block, stopping in front of one. FP looks in and sees a miserable looking Alice. "Hi, honey! How are you?" He smiles cheekily at her. She glares at him. 

"Please tell me you're here to get me they'll out of this place." 

"I am. Your bail is paid and I'm taking you home." 

"Thank God." 

The sheriff opens her cell and she comes out, instantly kissing FP. "Get. Me. Out of here." She mumbles in between kisses. He smiles and takes her hand. "Ooo, you brought the motorcycle. I missed that thing." 

"Alice you were in jail one night." 

"It felt like a month." 

"Well, Al," he starts, handing her a helmet. "is it true what they say about women who have just been released from prison?" 

She raises an eyebrow at him. "What do they say?" 

"That they are incredibly sexually frustrated." 

She smirks at him. "Take me home and find out."


	47. Locker

Alice and FP walk in the school, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. The minute they turn down the hallway all eyes land on her. People are whispering and staring and FP wraps his arm around her tighter. "Why are they all staring?" Alice wonders. 

"I have no clue." He's just as curious as her. 

Hermione and Fred come running up to them. "Oh my gosh, you're here!" Hermione exclaims. 

"Why wouldn't I be?" 

"Rumour has it you got arrested." 

"What? How did people find out about that?" 

Hermione and Fred's eyes grow wide and she gasps. "You mean it's true?" 

"Yeah but only FP and a couple of other's know. Hell, my parents don't even know!" 

They all walk down the hall to her locker and see everyone crowding around her locker. Alice shoves past everyone to get to her locker. 

Her locker is plastered in copies of her mugshot, phrases like "drug mule" and "Serpent slut" written across it. 

"Baby-" FP starts but she quickly turns, the anger clear on her face. 

"Penny fucking Peabody!" Alice seethes and then she's off in search of Penny. 

FP follows quickly behind her. "Babe, are you okay?" 

"I'm fine." 

"Where are you going?" 

"To give that viperous bitch a taste of her own medicine." She sees Penny leaning against the bleacher. 

Alice storms up to her. "Alice, you look nice for a recently released jailbird." Penny smiles at her and Alice delivers a hard punch to her face. 

Penny scoffs and spits blood out onto the ground, turning back to Alice. "Well, prison made your right hook better." 

Alice goes to swing at her again and FP pulls her back with an arm around her waist. He steps between the two of them. "Penny, get the hell out of here." With a roll of her eyes she storms off. 

"What the hell, FP?" Alice yells. 

"Al, you just got out of prison, you really want to go back for assault?" She looks up at him with glossy eyes and shakes her head. He cups her cheek with his hand and kisses her forehead. She smiles softly up at him and takes his hand in her own. 

"Let's go to class." She sighs. 

"I can take you home, Al. We can just hang out, maybe get some extra sleep or something?" 

She shakes her head. "Who am I if I hide from this? That's not me. I'm facing this head on. Now," She takes his hand in hers and starts towards the school's doors again. "let's go. I'm alright, I promise."


	48. Chat

Alice is sitting by beside him on his bed wearing only his t-shirt as she scribbles in her notebook. "How's your homework going, baby?" FP chuckles as he hears her huff. 

She looks at him and narrows her eyes. "Algebra is stupid." 

"Would probably help if you were using a calculator." 

She closes her math book and tosses it to the end of the best. She swings her leg over his and snuggles up against his side. "Let's take a break." She suggests. 

"Okay, we need to talk anyway." 

"You breaking up with me Jonesy?" She jokes. 

"No, hell no. We need to talk about Penny." 

She rolls her eyes and scoots away from him. "No we don't." 

"Al-" 

"FP I'm not having this conversation." 

"Alice, Penny got you thrown in jail, do you really think it's a good idea to keep provoking her?" 

"Well... no, but what am I supposed to do? Just let her treat me like shit and practically hang off of you?" 

"She does it on purpose to get you riled up." FP points out and Alice's face softens. "Don't get me wrong, it's hot as fuck when you get all feisty but I don't want to risk you getting hurt or getting into more trouble then you already do." 

Alice sighs and falls back onto his bed. "She just pissed me off." 

"I know, baby, she pisses me off too but just try to get through without smacking her around some more. I've been yours for almost a year now, believe me, I'm not going anywhere."  

"I'll do my best." 

"Good." He grows his English book to the floor and crawls over her. "Now kiss me." He puckers his lips and she laughs as she pulls his face down to hers.


	49. Anniversary

The cool October air blows over them, blowing the light fabric of Alice's dress up a little bit. She shivers and FP shrugs off his flannel to drape it over her shoulders. "Thank you." She smiles softly and scoots a little closer to him, looking out over the water. 

It's their one year anniversary, it sounds so stupid to them to admit it out load but they still wanted to celebrate it in some sort of way. Hell, if you had of told FP a year ago that he was going to be in a serious, committed relationship he never would have believed you. But here he is. Here they are. 

"FP?"

"Yeah?" He cocks his head to look at her.

"What are your plans after school finishes?"  
It's a valid question, but he has no clue. He's always embarrassed to tell people what he wants to do with his life, write. It's his passion. But any time he's mentioned it people just laugh and say "A Serpent becoming a writer? Be reasonable." But this is Alice he's talking to, the only person who won't judge him, the only one who knows everything about him and still loves him for it, the only person he can tell anything to.

"Well I want to go to college, but we'll see."  
"You do?"

"Yeah, for something English related, probably journalism."

"Come to Berkeley with me." She says casually.  
"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She turns to him and smiles, which only causes him to smile at the sight.

"Alright you have yourself a deal. I mean, I have to be accepted but if I am then you have a deal."

She laughs softly. "Good." She leans forward, resting against one of the cold metal bars of the bridge. "What else do you want to do?"

"Get the hell out of this town." He says. That causes her to turn her head quickly, almost in a panic.

"You want to leave?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to. You're telling me you've never thought about it?"

"No I have, I just don't like the idea of you thinking it." She says, and he laughs a little.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't like the idea of not being with you." She says causally, turning her head to focus on the water rushing below them. 

He smiles to himself before reaching out to touch her cheek, turning her attention back to him. "You're coming with me."

"I am?"

"Well, if you want to." He says, watching as she tries to fight the smile threatening to form on her lips. "That's been the plan for a while, get the hell out of here and take you with me. Start our lives together somewhere other than here."

"Sounds like a dream." She scoots a little closer to him and leans against the metal bars of the bridge. He smiles and hooks an arm around her waist. "So in this future life together, what's happening?"

"Hmm, I'm not entirely sure." He says as he thinks. "I know I'm gonna marry you."

"Oh yeah?" She smiles brightly at the thought of marrying him.

"Yeah. And you're gonna look incredible, even more so than usual. And you're going to own the town newspaper."

"Really?"

"Mhm, and we're gonna rule the Serpents."

"Of course." She says, he smiles and pulls her closer to his side. "So in this future life together, do we have kids?"

"Yes. Two. A boy and girl. She's beautiful, looks just like you." He says, causing them both to smile.

"What are their names?"

"I'm not sure." He ponders before turning to her again. "What do you think?"

"I don't know, they need something different, nothing too boring or something you hear all the time."

"Chic for a boy." He decides on.   
"Chick? Like the bird?" She asks and he laughs.  
"Yes, but without the k, looks cooler."

"Alright, I like it. Chic it is." She says and they share a smile. She can picture a little boy, FP's twin no doubt, running around the house in a little leather jacket. She smiles at the thought. "What about for a girl?" She wonders.

"I have no idea." He thinks about it for a minute before asking her. "What about you?" 

"I always liked the name Poppy. Something different." She suggests and he smiles at the name, Poppy, he can picture it. A little girl with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes just like Alice. She'll be beautiful no doubt, just like her mother.

"I like it." She turns to him and smiles. 

"We can call her P for short."

She smiles. "I like it." She says, and then she starts laughing.

"What?" He asks, laughing himself.

"If you put their names together they'd be Chickpea." She explains, he laughs at the thought.

"Oh man they're going to hate us for that." 

"They will." She agrees, with a grin. She moves closer to him and leans into his side, hooking her arm with his. "I didn't know you thought about that kind of stuff." She says, he smiles a little and wraps his arm around her a little tighter.

"I've thought it for a while."

"How come you never said it before than?"

"Didn't want to scare you away."

"Trust me," She says as she looks up into his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."

He smiles and places a hand on her cheek and leans in slowly to kiss her. She kisses him back, pressing herself into him more, he holds onto her tightly, not wanting the night to end.

"I love you." She says as she pulls back from the kiss, leaning her forehead against his.

"I love you, too." He kisses her again, falling more and more in love with her as the seconds tick by.


	50. Oh Baby

Their fun comes to a haltering stop one particular morning. 

She wakes up, wrapped in his arms and turns in them so she can press a kiss to his jaw, trying to wake him. 

His eyes flutter open and he smiles down at her in his arms. "Morning." He mumbles sleepily. 

"Morning, handsome." She replies, snuggling up to him. 

He leans down and kisses her head and she moves herself into his lap, capturing his lips once she does. 

His hands travel her body and just as he's about to deepen the kiss she places her hands on his shoulders and pushes him away. "You alright?" He questions. 

She doesn't answer, instead, she practically leaps off of his lap and runs to the bathroom. He sat there confused for a few moments, wondering what was wrong until he heard her heavy breaths in between sounds of retching. 

He rushed into the bathroom to see her crouched over the toilet, puking. He quickly joined her on the tile, gathering her hair and holding it back as she got sick. 

When her stomach finally settled she wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet with a groan. "Ugh, I didn't want you to see me puke." She whines, turning to FP, looking completely disgusted with herself. 

He doesn't say a word, just pulls her into a hug and kisses her forehead. "Don't worry about it, baby. I just want to make sure you're alright." He speaks after a moment, running his fingers through her hair. 

He didn't mind the smell in the air and he didn't mind the feel of her clammy skin against his, he loved her and to him she was still as perfect as ever.

"It's probably just the flu." She sighs. But when they locked eyes there was the unspoken knowing that it was anything but the flu. When she did the math in her head she knew for a fact that it was anything but the flu. 

But they pushed it down. Both too afraid to face the possibility of what it really was making her sick even though deep down they knew. 

And so they continued as normal for a while, trying to just forget about the situation. But every morning, without fail, she would wake up and get sick. 

She's been staying at FP's a lot since it started happening every morning, knowing her mom would catch on eventually. 

He was by her side every morning, rubbing her back to calm her down and holding her hair back until she would fall slump against his chest, groaning as her stomach turned. 

She flushed the toilet after she was sure her stomach had settled and he held her close on the cold tile of the bathroom. She's been sick for almost two weeks and she's noticed her stomach is a little softer than usual. 

FP wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her back, both of them not wanting to move until she was sure she wasn't feeling sick anymore. 

As she thought about the reason she was feeling so sick she couldn't stop the tears that rolled down her cheeks. 

It was only after he felt a tear fall onto his arm that he noticed she was crying and he leaned back enough to see her face. He wiped away her tears, not bothering to ask what's wrong because he knew. "What are we going to do?" She said shakily and FP wrapped his arms around her tighter. 

He kissed her temple before speaking. "I don't know. But we'll figure it out... I promise. And I'm not going anywhere." 

She nodded before burying her head in his shoulder as she fell apart in his arms. He felt his own tears run down his cheeks as she broke down. Alice is pregnant and he has no fucking clue what they're going to do.


	51. Acknowledging

They haven't made it official yet, just relying on the obvious signs. 

He wakes up early one morning and looks over at Alice snuggled up close to his side, sleeping peacefully. He presses a kiss to the top of her head and slips out of bed carefully so he doesn't wake her. 

He gets dressed and grabs his wallet before sneaking out as quiet as possible. He stops by a store to buy something for her and their baby. 

It's still crazy for him to think about. Alice is having his baby. He's going to be a father. 

When he gets back to his trailer he pokes his head into the bedroom and sees she's still fast asleep. He gets in bed beside her, trying not to wake her but she stirs in her sleep and he feels her snuggle closer to him. "Morning." She mutters. 

"Good morning, sleepy head." He feels her smile against his skin. "I got you something." He tells her and she looks up at him with a curious expression. 

"What is it?" He chuckles and reaches down to the floor. He hands her a yellow teddy bear he bought for her and the baby. "It's actually for you and the baby but still." 

"Oh, FP... this is so sweet." She pecks a kiss to his cheek. 

"I know you haven't been feeling the best lately and it's my fault we're in this situation so I wanted to do something to make you feel a little better about it all." 

"I love you." She tells him. "I think that's the first time either of us have actually acknowledged this for what it is." She looks down at her stomach and watches as his hand slowly travels over to rest on it, she smiles at the sight. 

"We're having a baby." She nods and moves her hand to rest on top of his. 

"Are you scared?"

"Terrified. You?" 

"Petrified." 

"Well I'll be here every step of the way, for you and for our little munchkin in there." He moves down to press a kiss to her stomach. "I promise."


	52. Favor

"We have to tell my parents soon, I don't think we'll be able to hide this for very long, I'm already showing a bit." 

"It's kinda hot," FP says making her laugh, and he traces his hand across her abdomen. "you're right though. They'll find out eventually, it's better if we tell them sooner rather than later." 

"They're going to kill me." 

"It's my fault, I feel like they'll be more mad at me for getting you pregnant." 

"They'll kill us both then." 

"Hey at least we're in it together, babe." 

She laughs and smiles into his kiss. The phone rings, interrupting their little moment. "Hello?" He answers, his eyebrows furrowing as he listens to the other person talk. "Right now? I'm a little busy today can we- fine, I'll be there." He hangs up and runs his hand over his face with a sigh. 

"Where do you have to go?" Alice questions, running her hand down his side. 

"The Wyrm." He sighs. "Why don't I drop you off at home and I'll meet ya after I'm done." 

He drops her off at her house with a promise that he'll be quick so they can talk to her parents together. 

He walks into the Wyrm and is instantly met with the sickening smile of Penny Peabody. "What the hell do you want?" 

"I need a favor." 

"Why would I do anything for you?" He turns to walk back outside but the next thing she says stops him in his tracks. 

"Because if you don't your precious girlfriend pays the price." 

He clenches his jaw and turns back to face her. "Fine. What is it?" 

⚜️

"Honey, you look pale. Are you alright?" 

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine." 

"You seem nervous." Her dad points out. 

"Cool as a cucumber." She forces a tee thy smile. 

There's a knock on the door and Alice is quick to answer it, expecting FP on the other side. Instead she's met by Hogeye. "Hogeye? What are you doing here?" 

"Smith, you need to come with me." She raises an eyebrow at him. "It's FP."


	53. Arrested

"What the hell happened to him?" Alice demands. Hogeye is silent. "Hogeye, I swear to God you better tell me what the hell is going on or I'll-"

"He was arrested." Alice's mouth falls open. "He called me from the slammer, told me to pick you up so he could see you." 

"Oh my God." She sits back in her seat and stares out the window, swallowing the lump in her throat. 

"Hey, hey Smith. He's going to be fine," Hogeye pats her knee. "he's a strong kid, he'll be alright." 

They pull into the lot of the station and Alice rushes inside to find FP. "Where is he?" 

"Who?" The sheriff questions. 

"FP Jones, where is he?" 

"Are you family?" 

"I'm his girlfriend." 

"Sorry, m'am you can't see him." 

"I am his family, let me see him!" 

"I'm sorry we can't-" 

"Alice!" FP calls for her as an officer is leading him away. 

"FP." She rushes over to him, ignoring the calls of the sheriff telling her to come back. 

She throws her arms around him and he nuzzles his head into her neck since the officer still has his hands pulled behind him. "Fuck, I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean for this to happen." 

"I know, I know that." She clings onto him tightly trying to hold back tears. 

"We have to go." The officer speaks. 

"What? Go where?" 

"He's under arrest for possession of hard drugs and illegal selling of said drugs." 

"You can't arrest him, he's only 17." 

"Which makes it that much more illegal." 

"At least let me say goodbye!" FP pleads with the officer. "She's having my baby, let me say goodbye to my fucking girlfriend and our kid!" 

The officer sighs and lets him go, allowing FP to wrap his arms tightly around Alice. "I love you so much, Al." 

"I love you, FP." 

"I'm sorry, Penny threatened your life if I didn't do this. I had to baby, I'm sorry." She can feel his body shake as he cries into her shoulder. "I don't want to leave you and our munchkin." 

"I'll come visit you." 

"But what if I'm stuck in here a while, I'm going to miss everything, Al!" 

"I'm going to get you out of here, FP... I promise. I'm going to find you the best lawyer and we're going to get you out of here." 

"It's time to go." The officer tells him. 

"I love you. Never forget that." He kisses her softly and placed his hand on her stomach. "I love you too, kiddo." He leans down and presses a kiss to her stomach and she feels tears start streaming down her cheeks. 

The officer takes him away as Alice watches numbly. And when he's completely out of her sight she crumbles, falling to the floor, tears steadily streaming down her cheeks.


	54. Ultrasound

"Alice?" A familiar voice speaks as a hand comes to rest on her shoulder. "Let's go home, sweetheart." She looks up to see her parents standing there and she nods slowly. 

She stares out the window the whole ride, her hand absentmindedly rubbing her stomach. 

"He'll be alright, honey." Her mom assures her. 

She doesn't say anything, just nods and continues to stare out the window. 

She doesn't remember much after they get home, just remembers dragging herself upstairs and climbing into bed. 

A soft knock on her door brings her back to reality. "Alice?" Fred pokes his head in and gives her a sad smile. "Thought you could use a friend right now, can I come in?" 

She nods slowly and moves over to make some room for Fred beside her. "Fucking Penny set him up. Made him do a run and then called the damn cops on him so he'd get caught." 

"How long is he in there for?" 

"Who knows. Could be a few months could be a few years, I guess it all depends on how the judge sees things." She sniffles and Fred wraps his arm around her shoulder. "I don't want him to go to jail, Fred." 

"I know, Alice... I don't want him to either." 

"We had so many plans, we were going to graduate and go to college together, get our own place... we're even having a baby." 

"Wait, what?" Fred asks, shocked at the revelation. 

"I'm pregnant." 

"Jesus, I know you two love each other and all but isn't it a little soon to start a family." 

"It wasn't planned you asshole." Alice glares at him. "But we were going to have it, raise it... we were going to be good parents, Fred." 

"You still can, Alice. He might not go to prison." 

"Maybe you're right." She sighs, she doesn't believe him as much as she wants to. 

"Your parents know about their grandchild on the way?" 

"No. We were going to tell them today before everything went to shit." 

"You want me to stay with you while you tell them? I've never been in the situation myself but I'm sure you could use a friend there for support." 

"If you don't mind." 

"Of course not, that's why I offered." 

"They're going to kill me." 

"It'll be alright." He hugs her tightly and leads her out of her room. "Let's get this over with so we can focus on getting him out of jail." 

_____ 

"I have to tell you something." Alice sniffles as she sits with Fred across from her parents. She's clutching Fred's hand so tightly he's scared she'll break it but if it's what she needs then he's willing to help. She's his best friend's girlfriend, she's one of his best friends, he wants to be there for her. 

"You can tell us anything sweetheart, you know that." Her dad smiles at her. 

"FP and I... I'm pregnant." Their jaws drop and Alice takes a deep breath. "We were planning to tell you today but then he... he got arrested." She chokes on her words and her parents are up in an instant to hold her. 

"Oh, honey." He mom strokes her hair as they comfort her. "Are you sure?" 

"We didn't take a test or anything but I know I am." 

"We'll go to the doctors today." 

She sniffles. "You're not mad?" 

"Well we're not happy but you're going through enough right now, the last thing you need is us losing it on you for getting pregnant." Her dad answers on behalf of both her and her mom. 

"Come on, lets go see if you are in fact pregnant." 

_____

"Alright, let's see if we can find this little baby." The doctor moves the wand all around her stomach as Alice's eyes stay glued on the ultrasound screen. "Oh, there it is!" She points to a spot on the screen and Alice smiles. That's her baby. 

"It's so tiny." 

"Well judging by what I see here I'd say your about three months pregnant." 

"Three months?" Her mother's eyes nearly big out of her head. "Alice how on Earth have you managed to keep this a secret that long?" 

"I was staying at FP's a lot for a reason." She shrugs and turns back to the screen. 

"Now if we're lucky we might be able to hear your baby's heartbeat." She continues moving the wand around Alice's stomach and smiles to herself. "There it is." She turns up the machine so they can all hear. 

The steady beat of her baby's heart comes through and she feels happy tears fill her eyes. She just wishes FP was here to experience it with her. 

"I'll go print your ultrasound." The doctor smiles at her. "Congratulations." 

"Thank you." Alice returns the smile. "Oh, wait! Could you print an extra copy? For my boyfriend? He'd love to have one."


	55. Trial

"I'm here to see FP Jones." 

"Come with me." The officer replies and Alice follows him to the visitation room. 

She waits anxiously for FP to come in. 

When the door clicks open she looks over to see FP walk in, a smile on his face at the sight of her. 

The officer takes off his handcuffs and he quickly walks over to Alice, hugging her tight. "My God, I have missed you so damn much. It's only been a week and I feel like I haven't seen you in months." 

"They wouldn't let me see you, I've come everyday." 

"Thank God, you're here now. They set a date for my trial." 

"They did?" They sit down at the table together and he hold her hands in his own, stroking her soft skin. 

"They managed to get me an early one. It's two days from now, I wanted to call and tell you but they wouldn't let me use the phone." 

"I'll be there." 

"You will?" 

"Of course, I would take the stand if they needed me too. Anything to help you get the hell out of here. I miss you."  

"I miss you too." He sighs. "There is a bright side I guess, I've gotten to see my dad." 

She smiles. "That's good. How is he?" 

"I mean, he's in prison so as good as you can imagine in here." 

"I wish you could both just come home. He could meet his grand-baby then." 

FP smiles at the mention of their baby. "How is the munchkin anyway?" 

"Good. Three months." 

"Three? Jeez, I didn't think you were that far along." 

"Me either. I have something for you though." She reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out the ultrasound for him. "I got to see it. Even got to hear it's heartbeat." 

"Wow... it looks just like you!" He says, completely mesmerized as he stares at the pictures of their baby. 

She laughs. "You can't even tell!" 

"I know but I just feel like it does. God, Al, this is amazing." 

"That's your copy. I didn't know if you could have one in here but I thought I'd bring one just in case." 

"I'm not letting them take it from me, I'll hide it if I have to!" 

"I wish you could have been there. It was amazing, FP. It's little heartbeat, that's our baby." 

"I love you. And our baby. I love you both so damn much it hurts." 

"I know. We love you too." 

"I'm gonna get out of here. And we're going to raise our baby together, it's going to be the cutest, most loved kid in all of Riverdale. I promise you that." 

_____

The trial day comes quickly. Alice sits nervously beside her parents and her friends. FP walks in and she feels her breath catch. It all seems like some surreal dream. 

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones II please take the stand." 

He rises and walks over to the stand. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" 

"I do." He takes a seat and anxiously awaits questioning. 

"Mr Jones, you were arrested for possession of drugs, correct?" 

"Yes." 

"You were also dropping said drugs off with the intent to sell, correct?" 

"Yes." 

"Now what would make a 17 year old boy want to sell and possess drugs you ask? Well your honour, the jury, Mr Jones here is the son of none other than Forsythe Pendleton Jones. Another known criminal who was arrested for the possession and selling of drugs." 

"Objection! Relevance?" 

"I'm just pointing out that the reason Mr Jones here is starting a life of crime himself is because it's all he's ever known." 

"That's not why I did it." FP insists. 

"Well Mr Jones, would you care to explain why you did it?" 

"Penny Peabody, an ex girlfriend of mine has had it out for my current girlfriend. She called me early one morning and told me she needed me to do a drop off for her. When I refused she threatened the life of my girlfriend. My girlfriend who is pregnant with my baby. I agreed to do it so she wouldn't end up hurting her or our unborn child, not because my dad is a criminal!" 

"Is it possible Ms Peabody was bluffing?" 

"No. She's done some horrid things in her past, I was scared to see what she would do if I didn't go along with what she wanted." 

"Your honour, that still is no excuse for selling drugs? Mr Jones here could've reported Ms Peabody to the authorities, instead he decided to take matters into his own hand and listen to her? In my opinion this is just an excuse to try and land my client in prison instead."

"Objection!" FP's lawyer interjects. 

"No further questions." 

"There will be a fifteen minute recess." The judge announces. 

Alice quickly finds FP outside the court room. "It seemed to go well in there, I think you have a shot." 

"I don't know, Penny's lawyer is good at her job." 

"So is yours." 

"I'm scared, Al. I don't want to leave you." 

"I don't want you to either." She hugs him tightly and he holds back tears. 

_____

"We have come to a decision." The judge announces. Alice holds her breath and curls her first, her nails pinching her skin. "The court has found Mr Jones... guilty. He will be serving a six year sentence. Court is adjourned." 

"No." Alice breathes. "No!" She rushes over to where FP is, pushing past the officers trying to hold her back. 

He rushes over to her and hugs her tight, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead. "I love you baby, never forget that." He rest his hand on her stomach. "Make sure he or she knows how much their daddy loves them, alright?" 

He's yanked away from her and is handcuffed on the spot and she watches as the love of her life taken away and out of her sight.


	56. Visiting Hours

Two weeks later she finally gets the nerve to go visit him. She's wanted to see him, has talked to him on the phone but has been too sad to go see him, didn't want to see him locked away. 

She's escorted into a room and waits patiently for FP to show up. 

She smiles at him when he comes in. They're separated by a glass pane but it's enough to be able to see him. They pick up the phones and smile. "I've missed you." 

"I've missed you too." She smiles at him. 

"How are you?" 

"Alright. It's been hard not having you around, plus your kid is making me hungry 24/7." 

He chuckles and the sound is like music to her ears. "Is it now?" 

"Yeah, it loves Pop's, just like it's daddy." He smiles at that and watches as her hand slowly rubs her stomach. 

"Do we know the gender yet? I don't like referring to our baby as "it"." 

"I don't either, and no. I find out soon though and I'll make sure to tell you." 

"I'm calling it Chickpea." 

She laughs. "Chickpea?" 

"Yeah like we came up with that night on the bridge." 

"That was a good night." 

He smiles at the memory. "That it was." 

"Oh, hey, you'll get a kick out of this. We may not know the gender yet but Chickpea's growing pretty fast." She stands up lifts her shirt up enough to show off the tiny bump she's sporting. 

"I can't tell if I find it cute or sexy. Maybe a healthy mix of both. Has Chickpea kicked yet?" 

"Definitely moving around in there but nothing noticeable to anyone but me. Doctor said the movements are called flutters? I should start feeling kicks soon though." 

"I wish I was there to feel it when it happens." 

"Maybe they'll let you have a little visit with us?  Once Chickpea starts kicking I'll bribe them to let us see you so you can feel for yourself." 

"You'd do that?" 

"I'd do a lot of things for you. Plus he or she shouldn't be deprived of daddy's love just because he got screwed over by Penny Peabody and the entire judicial system." 

"Al? Can we have a serious talk?" 

"About what?" 

"I'm in here for six years. Now that's a long time to be without you and our baby but I want you to do something for me." 

"Anything." 

"Don't wait. Don't wait for me to get out of this place, if you meet someone don't feel like you have to reject them because of me. Go to Berkeley, become the best damn writer in all of Riverdale, follow your dreams, Al. But don't spend the next six years of your life waiting for me."

"FP-" shes about to protest so he cuts her off. 

"I'm serious, Al. Believe me baby, there's nothing I want more than to be with you right now and to spend the rest of my life with you but I can't do that so I need you to promise that you'll move on and live your life. I still love you and I'm always going to love you and I want to see you as often as I can." He pauses and runs his hand over his face. "But if you fall in love with someone else, and happen to marry that person I'm okay with that... but only if it feels right to you. As long as it makes you happy." 

"I don't want anyone else. I'm going to be here when you get out." 

"If you're still single in six years, which I find very hard to believe, then call me. But I don't want you to just wait around for me. That isn't fair to you, you deserve to have a life, Al." 

"You are my life, FP. Whether you like it or not I'm gonna be here and I'm going to wait for you. Me and little Chickpea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is everyone okay with some little mini time jumps? I don't want to dwell on her pregnancy and I have some cute ideas planned!


	57. Back to The Paper

"Hey, Al. Nice to see you back in school." Fred smiles as he leans against the locker beside hers. 

"I didn't want to come back but if I ever want to go to college I can't keep skipping." 

"You talked to him lately?" 

"Yeah, almost everyday." 

"How is he?" 

"Well he's in prison so about as good as you can imagine. His dad's there though so that's helping him." 

"That's good. I mean it sucks ass that he's in jail but it's good he's not alone in there." 

"It sucks, I mean he's missing out on so much. Football, college applications... Chickpea." 

Fred raises an eyebrow. "Chickpea?" 

"The baby." She points to her stomach and Fred sighs as he remembers. 

"Ah, right, you got a little nugget on the way. How's that going?" 

"I'm hungry 24/7, I have to pee all the time, I have morning sickness and it likes to move around when I go to bed so I can't sleep. It's a great time." 

"You know if it's a boy or a girl yet?" 

"Find out tomorrow." 

"I have some name suggestions!" Fred excitedly tells her and she raises an eyebrow. "If its a boy, Fred. And if it's a girl Frida." 

She laughs softly. "As great as those names are we've already picked out the names, talked about it a while ago." 

"What are they?" 

"Chic for a boy, Poppy for a girl but we'd call her P for short. Hence FP nicknaming it Chickpea." 

"Can you at least make the middle name Fred?" 

"We'll see." She closes her locker and pecks a kiss to her friend's cheek before walking down the hall. 

"Wait, Alice! You wanna go to Pop's with me and Hermione? Bet little nugget is craving a milkshake and hamburger if it's anything like FP." 

"As good as that sounds I have to go work on the paper, catch up on what I missed. Eat extra for me though." 

"Will do!" He promises with a grin. 

_____

She walks into the Blue & Gold office and is met with a smile from Hal. "Thought you quit the paper, you weren't showing up for a while there." 

"Been dealing with some personal stuff but I'm here now. I'm ready to do my share of what I missed." 

"Okay well I have a list of topics we need to cover in this week's issue, you can look through it and see what you want?" 

He hands her the list and she reads over it, checking off the topics she'll do. "How many people do we have on board this year?" 

"So far? Two." 

"Two?" Her eyes grow wide. 

"Yeah just you and I." 

"Jesus, does no one care about journalism anymore? Is the art of writing dead to people our age?" 

"Guess so. It sucks but you're back now so we can really make this paper something special." 

She smiles. "You know you're not as bad as you were last year, what happened?" 

"Getting kicked off the team was an eye opener. Realized I needed to grow up before senior year, really threw myself into journalism and became less of an asshole." He sighs and takes a seat beside her. "Which, by the way, I'm sorry for how I acted last year. Treated you like some dumb blonde when you're quite possibly one of the smartest and most talented people I know." 

"Thanks Hal." She offers him a smile that he gladly returns. 

"Apologize to FP for me? Can't find him anywhere." 

"Oh... he uh, transferred." 

"Where?" 

"Southside High." 

"Ah that sucks, I'm sorry." 

"It's alright, we still talk a lot, see each other as much as possible." 

"That's good."


	58. Chic

"Alright, everything is looking good. Your baby is very healthy, growing pretty fast, that's good. Your baby can also hear now, not great but it will be able to hear. A lot of parents start reading or singing to their baby's around this time." Alice smiles at the thought. "Do you want to know the gender?" 

"Yes please." 

"You're having a boy!" The doctor yells her excitedly. "Congratulations." 

"Thank you." 

"I'll give you a moment, I'll print your ultrasound for you. Would you like an extra copy again?" 

"Please." 

Alice's eyes well up once the doctor leaves the room. "Hi there baby boy, I'm your mommy. We're going to go see your daddy today, he's going to be so excited when we tell him the news! He loves you a lot too." 

_____

"Hi, I'm here to see FP Jones." 

"We'll let him know he has a visitor and someone will escort you to see him." 

"Thank you. Also, could you give him this for me?" Alice hands the woman an envelope containing the ultrasound of their baby. "It's an ultrasound, he wants to keep being updated." 

"Of course, m'am." 

She's escorted to a room and takes a seat at one of the booth's, awaiting FP's arrival. 

He smiles at her once he sees her and she returns it. "Hi, baby! I missed you, haven't seen you in a few days." 

"I missed you too, it's been a little busy. I finally went back to school and I've been working on the Blue & Gold a lot." 

"Hal still working there with you?" 

"Yeah he is, but shockingly he's changed. Is actually kind of nice now. Asked me to apologize to you for him." 

"Did you tell him I'm in prison? Bet he had a field day with that." 

"No, I haven't told anyone. Figured you'd want it a secret. I told him you transferred to Southside High." 

He nods. "How's Chickpea doing?" 

"Actually I have some exciting news!" 

He perks up at that. "You do? What is it?" 

"I found out the gender today." 

"You did? What is it? What are we having?" The excitement in his voice melts her heart. 

"We're having a boy, a mini FP!"  She happily announces. 

"A boy! Yes, I'm having a boy!" 

Alice chuckles at his excitement and how loud he's announcing it. "I have a picture of him," she tells him, digging into her coat pocket for the picture. "I left the woman in the front a copy for you." She puts the photo up to the glass and he smiles bigger than she's ever seen. 

"That's our baby boy." He turns away briefly to wipe his eyes and turns back, not wanting to ever take his eyes off of the picture. "I love getting picture of our baby, never stop sending them, Al." 

"I won't. I always ask for an extra copy."  

"Next time can you bring me a picture of you? So I can have a picture of both of you?" 

"Sure. Maybe when I'm showing more I can get a picture of the belly for you." 

"I'd love that. Hell, I'd take a picture a day for the next few months if they'd let me, I want to watch our little Chickpea grow." 

"I think I've got a middle name for him, I was thinking about it on my way here." 

"Yeah? What is it?" 

"Forsythe Pendleton. Or maybe just Pendleton, maybe just Forsythe but I want to have at least one of the names in there." 

"I love it, baby. What about the first name?" 

"I thought we already decided on Chic that night on the bridge?" 

"I just didn't know if you still liked it." 

"Of course I do. Like it even more since you chose it." 

"I love you. Both of you." 

"We love you too." 

"Hey, can he hear yet?" 

"Yeah he can, just found that out today." 

"Put the phone on your belly." She raises an eyebrow at him in confusion but does as he asks and smiles when she realizes he's talking to their baby. "Hi, Chic. It's your daddy." She can feel the baby moving around at the sound of FP's voice. "I promise that when I get out of here we're gonna have so much fun. You've got a damn good mama, I know she's taking good care of you so you be good for her. Don't go making her all nauseous and kicking her all night... I love you little man, you and your mama." 

He motions for her to put the phone back up to her ear. "So, what'd you two talk about?" 

"Oh nothing, just a man to man conversation." 

"He was wiggling around as soon as you started talking, I could feel him." 

"You think he knows who I am?" 

"Of course, you're his daddy. I'm going to make sure he always knows."


	59. Cheeseburgers

"Alice?" Hal starts as they work away on the paper. "Are you doing anything after we're done here?" 

"Was just going to go home. Why do you ask?"

"Thought maybe we could go get celebratory milkshakes." 

"Celebratory milkshakes?" 

"Yeah I mean we've brought out multiple issues of the Blue & Gold by ourselves now, I think we deserve some celebratory milkshakes. My treat." 

"Alright, that sounds nice." 

So after they finish up the paper they head to Pop's Chocklit shoppe for a round of milkshakes. 

"You know, you're actually tolerable to hang out with now." Alice tells Hal as she sips on her milkshake. 

"Thanks?" 

"It's a compliment. You were an ass." 

"Yeah, I know. I wish I could go back and change it but I can't." 

"I feel like everyone wishes sometimes that they could go back and change things." She wishes FP could go back in time, not do the run for Penny. Maybe he'd be across the booth from her right now instead of Hal. 

"You want a ride home?" Hal offers after they've finished their milkshakes. 

"No thanks, I'll walk. I told FP I'd meet him." 

"It's no trouble, really." 

"It's alright, I'm just going to grab some hamburgers for FP," well, his baby but Hal doesn't need to know that. "and then I'll head out. You don't have to stick around." 

"Alright then, see you later Alice." 

"Bye, Hal." 

She waits until Hal is out of the lot to go up to the counter. "Hey Pop, can I get two cheeseburgers and an order of onion rings?" 

"Sure you can." He rings the order through. "I'm sorry to hear about FP by the way." 

Her eyes grow wide. "You know?" 

"Yeah, I heard Fred and Hermione talking about him the other day when they were in here." 

"You happen to overhear anything else from those big mouths?" 

"I may have." He smiles at her and she knows he's heard about her pregnancy. She's gonna kill Fred. "I won't tell anyone don't worry." 

"Thanks Pop." 

"I could've guessed it by your orders lately. You were always more of a veggie burger and fries kinda gal." 

"Yeah being pregnant with FP's baby means I've developed his taste in food. This kid wants me to eat 24/7." 

"Well it's definitely FP's child." 

"No doubt about that." They share a laugh as Pop puts her order in a takeout container. "How much?" Alice asks, pulling her wallet from her coat pocket. 

"It's on the house." 

"You don't have to do that Pop." 

"Nonsense, I know this must be a hard time for you right now. Besides, you're having FP's baby, you're gonna be broke by the time your pregnancy is over with how often it wants you to eat." 

"Thanks a lot Pop. I'm sure I'll see you very soon." 

"Have a good night Alice." 

_____

Alice is laying in her bed eating her meal when she feels Chickpea wiggling around in her belly. She rests her hand on her stomach and smiles excitedly when she feels him nudge against her fingertips. "Hey you, what are you up to in there?" Chic moves around some more at the sound of Alice's voice. "You're really active tonight, maybe you can kick tomorrow for daddy when we go see him? We're actually going to be able to hug him and everything. He's going to love getting to talk to you and kiss you." 

She takes another bite of her cheeseburger and slowly rubs her bump. "This is daddy's shirt we're wearing, you can't smell it but it smells like him. I can't wait until you can really meet your daddy. He's going to love you so much. So will your grandpa." Chic movies even more and she can feel herself getting emotional. "I love you Chic... so much."


	60. First Kick

"Are you gonna kick for your daddy today? He's going to be so excited to finally touch you and he'd be even more excited if you'd kick for him." Alice rubs her stomach and feels Chic nudging against her hand. "Let's take a picture for daddy, okay?" She reaches for her Polaroid camera and lifts her shirt up to expose her baby bump. 

She snaps a picture of it and waits for it to fully develop. As she waits she takes a picture of herself like FP had asked for. 

"Look how big your getting." Alice coos as she looks at the picture of her bump. "Look how big your making me get." Her bump is hideable under loose shirts and sweaters but it's definitely prominent. 

_____

She's escorted to the visitors room, FP had been asking for weeks to be allowed visitation and they finally agreed. 

She looks around the room at everyone being reunited with their loved ones. There's a little girl that catches her attention. "Daddy!" She runs into the man's arms and he hugs her tight. "I missed you." 

Alice's heart aches, that's what it's going to be like for Chic. Only getting to see FP on visitors day and through a glass window. It's so unfair. 

The door opening is what breaks her out of her thoughts and she looks over to the door to see FP coming in. He smiles at her as the guard uncuffs him. 

He walks over to her, picking up speed the closer he gets. She meets him halfway and throw her arms around him, never wanting to let go. "God, I missed you so much, Al. You have no fucking idea how much I missed you." He hugs her tights and breathes her in. He takes her face in his hands and kisses her long and slow, wanting it to last forever. 

"I missed you. I've missed being able to touch you." 

"I know, I have too." He kneels down and presses his hands on her bump. She wore a tighter fitting shirt to proudly show off their growing baby boy. 

He pushes it up just enough to place his hands on her bare skin. "Hey there baby boy, it's daddy. I lo-" he stops mid sentence when he feels a hard nudge against his hand. He looks up at Alice who has the same shocked expression on her face. "Was that-" 

"I think so. Keep talking to him." 

"I love you, buddy. I love you so much already. You're gonna be the most adorable baby boy in the whole wide world and I can't wait to finally meet you." He's awarded with another hard nudge and this time both he and Alice know for sure what it was. "He's kicking!" 

Alice nods and he can see tears filling her eyes. "Hey, hey baby." He stands up and wipes the tears from her cheeks. "Don't cry. What's wrong? Did him kicking hurt you?" He pulls her into him and she clings onto him as she cries into his shoulder. 

"No, it's just... my hormones are crazy and I was hoping he'd kick for you today. He's been moving around and nudging me lightly but I was hoping he would kick for the first time when we finally got to see you and he did." 

"That's my boy, kicking for daddy." He presses his hand back to her stomach and doesn't feel him kicking anymore. "Wait no don't stop! Keep kicking!" 

Alice laughs and takes his hand in hers, moving it across her stomach. "He moved over here, honey." 

Sure enough he feels Chic kicking again and he grins. "That's my boy. I didn't know he could move around that much. How did he end up over here?" 

"He does little somersaults in there, it's pretty roomy right now since he's still so little. Pretty soon he won't have as much room to be travelling around." 

FP guides her back over to the table she was at and helps her back into her seat. He pulls his own chair close to her ignoring the guard's disapproving stare. 

He places his hand back on her stomach, letting Alice take it and guide it wherever the baby is. He follows the baby's movements with his hand every time, completely mesmerized by the life growing inside of her. Half him, half Alice. 

"How have you been gorgeous?" 

"Hungry. He's definitely your kid because he's making me hungry all the time." 

FP laughs. What is he making you eat?" 

"Cheeseburgers. Lots and lots of cheeseburgers. And onion rings are another thing he's craving." 

"Normally you don't like onion rings." 

"Well I don't exactly have a say in what I eat anymore, your child owns me and my diet." 

FP smiles. "Besides being hungry all the time how are you?" 

"Good. I sent in my application to Berkeley!" 

"You did?" He smiles excitedly. 

"Yeah, I just gotta pray they like it." 

"They're gonna love it, they'd be lucky to have you go to their school." He kisses her cheek and she leans her head on his shoulder. "I want you to tell me as soon as you hear." 

"I will." She promises. "Maybe if they accept me then we could have a little celebration?" She raises her head off of his shoulder and he raises a confused eyebrow at her. 

"Al, in case you forgot, I'm in prison. I don't think we can exactly celebrate in the way you're thinking, as much as I'd like to." 

"Actually there's thing called conjugal visits." 

"Oh I've heard of those, don't you have to married though?" 

Alice shakes her head. "I looked into it and as long as you and your partner have been together for at least six months then we're good to go. Plus, I'm having your baby, I think they should understand it's a need for both of us." 

He chuckles. "You've been looking into conjugal visits, babe?" Her cheeks turn a few shade of pink. "Any particular reason?" 

"My hormones are all over the place. I want you so badly it's so frustrating." She groans and leans into him, he laughs and strokes her hair. 

"I know, baby. I'll ask about a conjugal visit." He kisses her head. "We can still do it with the baby and all?" 

"Yeah, it's not going to hurt him or anything. Besides, I'm eating for him all the time, I deserve a little treat myself." 

"And I'm your choice of treat?" 

"Of course you are." She presses a soft kiss to his lips. "Oh! I almost forgot! I took these pictures for you." She hands him the Polaroids from her pocket and watches as his face lights up. 

He stares at the photo of her in awe. "Gonna have to hide this one for my eyes only. Don't need other guys looking at my girl." She laughs and he flips to the photo of her baby bump. "Gosh, I wish I could be there to see your belly grow in person. I want to be there, Al. So badly. I'm going to treasure this one."

"I'll take a picture for you every time he grows noticeably." She leans her head on his shoulder and lays her hand atop his on her bump. "I wish you were there to see him grow too... I tell him every night how much you love him, how much you love us both. That's when he starts moving the most." 

He wipes at his eyes, trying to be discreet and Alice gives him a sad smile. "Never let him forget that, Al. Make sure he always knows how much I love him." 

She nods and hugs him tight. "I will, baby. I promise."


	61. Computer Crash

"Shit!" Hal hisses. "Shit, no, no!" He smacks the side of his computer and Alice looks up at him confused. 

"What happened?" 

"Computer just crashed." 

"What? Are you sure?" She drops her pencil and rushes over to see for herself. 

"It's not something I would lie about, Alice." He sighs. "I had half the damn article written out." 

"Just rewrite it on the other computer." 

"I can't, while you were gone Mr Dewey told me they were unhooking the computers so they could get better ones. He left this one for me since I was the only one working on it." 

"Shit." Alice sighs. 

"We can go to my place. If you're alright with that?" 

"Yeah, that's fine."

So they head to Hal's house. "We can just go up to my room, I have a computer in there." Of course you do, she thinks to herself but follows him up nonetheless. 

"I'll just keep planning out next issue while you do that. Let me know if you need me to look over anything or need notes." Alice sits on his bed and pulls out her notepad, scribbling away in it. 

A while later she looks up to see Hal smiling at her. "Jeez, how long have you been staring at me?" 

"Not long, you just look so cute all busy in your writing I didn't want to disturb you." Her cheeks flush. "I finished the article, you wanna read it over? See if you can bust me on any grammar mistakes?" 

"Damn right I do." She jumps up and walks over to him. She lays her hand on his shoulder as she reads over his article. "It's "they're" not "their"." Alice points to a sentence on the screen. 

Hal's cheeks flush. "Damnit, I really thought I had everything perfect. I proof read it and everything." 

Alice laughs and makes the quick fix. "Other than that it's perfect. Send it in!" 

He send it to their teacher to approve. "Done! We did it!" 

"Yeah we did!" She high fives him and he links their fingers together as he smiles down at her. 

"Thanks for all your help. You really jumped back into your role on the paper when you got back, you're a great writer." 

"Thanks, Hal. You're not too bad yourself." 

As he smiles at her she can't help but hear FP's words echoing in her mind. "Don't wait for me."


	62. Move On

"We're going to go see daddy, baby boy." Alice talks as she walks to her car. She can feel Chic kick and she smiles. "I guess you're excited, huh? I am too." 

"Alice!" A voice calls for her. "Alice wait up." She turns around to see Hal. 

"Oh, hey. You caught me just in time I was just about to leave." 

"I went to your locker but you were already gone, thought maybe I'd catch you out here." 

"Well you did, what's up?" 

"I was just wondering if you'd maybe like to go get some milkshakes at Pop's tomorrow night, maybe catch a movie at the Bijou. I understand if you don't want to with everything that's going on with FP but-" 

"Wait, what do you mean?" 

"Oh... um. I know he's in jail, don't worry I won't tell anyone!" 

"How do you know that?" 

"My parents own the register, they heard about it from the station. I asked them to leave it out of the papers." 

"You did?" 

"Yeah, obviously it's a really personal thing and I could only imagine how you were feeling about it all. Didn't think it was right to have it all over town, people would probably be bombarding you with questions." 

"Thank you... it means a lot, really." 

"Yeah, of course." He smiles at her. 

"And about tomorrow night... I'll let you know. Maybe give me your number? I'll call you tonight." 

"Yeah for sure." He pulls a notebook out of his school bag and scrawls his phone number onto a page before ripping it out and handing it to her. "Look forward to your response. Now, I'll let you go wherever you were heading. Hope I see you soon." 

"Bye Hal." 

She smiles as she looks at the paper and Chic kicks hard against her stomach. "Hey you, be nice in there." She rubs her bump and Chic kicks more gently against her hand. "Now let's go see daddy." 

_____

"How's my girl, and our boy?" FP questions with a smile as he sits across from her. She hates being separated by the glass but at least she gets to see him. 

"We're good, he's been kicking so much." 

"Yeah? That's a good thing though right?" 

"Yeah for sure. He kicked me really hard today, I don't think he was too happy." 

"Aw my little Chickpea wasn't happy?" 

"No, I don't think he was... I was talking to Hal and I don't think he liked it." 

FP's face turns more serious and he swallows hard. "What were two talking about?" 

"He um... he asked me out for tomorrow night." 

"Oh... what'd you say?" 

"I said I'd let him know, he gave me his number and that's when little Chic here decided to take out his frustration on my belly." 

"What are you going to say?" 

"I don't know... I wanted to talk to you about it." 

"Al, baby you know where I stand. I want you to move on." 

"I know you do but FP..." she sighs frustratedly and runs her fingers through her hair. "Gosh, it's not that simple. I love you so damn much it hurts, it hurts that I can't be with you and it hurts that I won't be with you for six whole years. I don't want to move on. How am I supposed to just forget about you?" 

"I'm not asking you to forget about me Al. I just don't want you to waste the next six years waiting for me to get out of here. I love you more than anything in the world, that's why I want you to at least try." A tear rolls down her cheek and he wants nothing more than to wipe it away. "Oh, baby don't cry. I can't wipe your tears from here... God, I wish I could hold you right now." 

She places her hand up against the glass and he presses his up against it as well. "I hate that this is as close as we can get." 

"Visitation days are on Sunday. Then I can hug you and kiss you and hug and kiss our precious little boy. Speaking of whom, could you put him on the phone?" 

She laughs and places the phone on her belly, placing it where Chic is. "Hey buddy, it's daddy!" Alice feels Chic start kicking up a storm at the sound of FP's voice. "I love you, I can't wait to see you on Sunday, I can't wait to hug you and kiss you and see how much you've grown. I hope you're being good for your pretty mama. You're so immensely loved by us both Chic, you have no idea. Or maybe you do, I'm not sure. I'm sure your mama tells you all the time and I hope you know I love you too, I say it every night, I have a picture of you and your mom up in my cell, you two are the last thing I see before I go to sleep and the first thing I see in the morning. Good job realize how terrible Hal is, however if he makes your mom happy that's a good thing. I'm glad you're already looking out for her, I'm glad she has you little man... I just wish I could be there too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FP talking to Chic is one of my favourite things to write but also it makes me so sad.


	63. Date

When Alice gets home from visiting FP she heads up to her bedroom with the phone in hand and dials Hal’s phone number. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey, it’s Alice.” 

“I was hoping you’d call.” She can practically hear the smile in his voice. 

“Just wanted to call and tell you that I’m free tomorrow.” 

“So are you up for some milkshakes and a movie?” 

“Yeah... that sounds nice.” 

_____

“You know I was a little worried you’d say no.” Hal says as they sit in a booth across from one another. “I mean I know I wasn’t exactly your favourite person last year so I didn’t think you’d willingly spend time with me.” 

“You definitely weren’t my favourite person last year. But you’ve grown up a lot between them and now, you’re more mature... you’re actually tolerable to be around now.” 

“Gee thanks.” She laughs and he smiles. “You have a pretty laugh, and an even prettier smile.” 

“Thanks, Hal.” 

He reaches for her hand and holds it, stroking his thumbs across skin. 

_____

“You want some popcorn?” Hal asks her. 

“Um, sure.” 

He orders an extra large popcorn for them to share and orders some candy and drinks for them as well. 

He hooks an arm around her waist as they walk towards the theatre their movie is playing in. She can feel Chic moving around wildly in her stomach and can’t help but smile as she thinks he’s trying to move away from Hal’s hand. 

“Where do you want to sit?” She thinks on it for a moment before taking his hand and leading him up to the higher seats. 

She walks them all the way to the back row. “Now if the movie ends up sucking we can talk without disturbing people... plus, well, you know.” She smokes charmingly at him and even in the dark she can see his cheeks flush. 

They sit down and practically devour the popcorn as they watch the movie. Hal curls his arm around her shoulder and she leans into him, actually enjoying herself much to her surprise. 

A particularly loud sound makes them both jump and they laugh quietly. “You’re really beautiful, you know that right?” Hal strokes her cheek with his thumb and she smiles, her own hand coming to rest on his cheek. 

And then it happens... he kisses her.


	64. Kicker

He walks her up to her front door, his fingers entwined with hers. "I actually had a really good time tonight." 

He raises an eyebrow at her and laughs. "Don't sound so surprised." 

She chuckles and plays with his fingers in hers. "I'm sorry, it's just... I don't know, I've been so torn up about FP I was almost going to reject you." 

"Well," he steps closer to her and cups her cheek, stroking his thumb across her cheekbone. "I'm glad you didn't." 

"Me too." She smiles and leans in at the same time as him. 

He brushes a soft kiss against her lips and then pulls away. "I'll see you later, Alice." 

"Night, Hal." 

She let's herself inside and smiles as she hangs up her coat. She happily thinks over the night until a strong wave of nausea hits her like a truck. 

She sprints upstairs just in time. Chic doesn't like popcorn clearly. She flushes the toilet and sighs as she gets up to brush her teeth. Chic is kicking away in her stomach and she chuckles. "Hey mister, you be good in there." She rubs her hand over her bump and Chic kicks again. "Did you make mama sick because I went on a date?" 

She finishes brushing her teeth and heads to her room, her phone rings almost instantly. "Hello?" 

"You are receiving a call from Shankshaw prison, would you like to accept the charge?" 

Her heart flutters, it's FP calling. "Yes, I'll accept."  

"Al?" 

"Hey, babe. How are you?" 

"Better now. How's my babe and our baby?" 

She smiles. "We're good, your child is making me nauseous." 

"Aw, Chickpea, you making your mama sick?" 

"I think he's mad because I went out with Hal." 

"Oh right that was tonight," he fakes being surprised but she knows he knows what he's doing. "how'd that go?" 

"Good, I mean, he's not you." 

He sighs. "I miss you." 

"I know. We miss you too." 

"Besides making you nauseous how's our boy doing?" 

"Growing rapidly, kicking a lot, think he's gonna be a little soccer player." 

"That’s my boy. Can I talk to him?” 

“Sure, I love you.” 

“I love you too, baby.” 

She places the phone on her belly and smiles as she feels Chic kicking away. 

There’s already such a bond between FP and their unborn son and on one hand it makes her happy but there’s also the underlying sadness of knowing he won’t be there for most of younger years.


	65. I’ll Be There For You

Much to Chic's disapproval she sees Hal repeatedly, the two of them just getting to know each other by going on dates and outings where they talk for hours. It's strange to her how last year he was such a nuisance but now she thinks she might actually be falling for him. 

He picked her up earlier that evening and took her for dinner at Pop's Chocklit Shoppe and then down to Sweetwater River to look at the stars. Though, they've had their mouths glued together since the second he parked. 

As his tongue slips past her lips she moves herself into his lap, the motion welcomed by Hal who's hands come to rest on her hips, finger just barely grazing the soft skin underneath the hem of her baggy t-shirt. 

She starts trailing her kisses lower, pressing a sucking kiss just below his ear. He gets a better grip on her hips and pushes her back a little. "Alice, um... I'm a, I mean I've never..." he trails off and she catches on. 

She smiles and presses a soft kiss to his lips. "That's okay," she loves back into her seat and smiles at him again. "we don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with." 

"It's not that I don't want to, believe me, you're gorgeous, it's just-" 

She cuts him off with a kiss. "You don't need to explain, it's okay, really." She kisses him once more and then opens her door. "Now come on, let's go look at the stars." 

_____

"I'm such an idiot, Fred! You have no idea!" She complains, flopping down on his bed dramatically. 

"You're not an idiot, Al." He assures her. 

"No? Because I think I am. My boyfriends in jail and now I'm going out with his arch enemy." 

"Cooper's his arch enemy?" 

"Well no, but they don't really like each other. I'm scum, I'm the worst girlfriend ever." She groans into his pillows and he chuckles as he rubs her back. 

"You're not the worst girlfriend ever, you're just doing what he asked you to do. He didn't want you to wait for him, and yeah maybe it's not ideal that you chose Cooper of all people but if it's what makes you happy then I think FP would be okay with that." 

"I almost slept with him." 

"What?" 

"We went down to Sweetwater River and we were making out and then I moved into his lap-" 

"You do realize you're pregnant and that having sex with him would probably draw attention to the fact that you're carrying a kid around inside you." 

"I know that you idiot! But my hormones are insane, I'm tempted to bribe the people at the prison to let FP have a conjugal visit with me." 

"Jeez, I knew you two were horndogs but that's a new level." 

She narrows her eyes at him and smacks him with a pillow. "It's the baby. Being pregnant is making my hormones go completely out of whack and I'm horny all the time-" 

"Alice, you're one of my best friends and I love you to death but I really don't want to hear about how horny you are." 

"Sorry." Her cheeks blush slightly and she sits up to rest her head on his shoulder. 

He places his hand on her stomach and feels Chic kick against his hand. "Hey, my little buddy's kicking! Yeah lil' dude, I'm your uncle Fred!" Alice smiles at Fred's excitement. "So wait, you said you almost had sex with him?" She nods. "Why didn't you guys go all the way? You suddenly get a sense of modesty?" 

She smacks him upside the head and he laughs. "No. He's a virgin." 

"Cooper's a virgin? Damn, being captain of the football team doesn't get you as many girls as I thought it would." 

"I think it's kind of sweet." 

"You're just saying that because you have to push a baby out in a few months." 

"Well I mean, I'm definitely not looking forward to that part but I wouldn't trade in Chic for anything. I just hate that FP's missing out on so much and is going to miss out on so much of his early years." 

"At least you can visit him a lot." 

"Yeah that's the only good part about it. Still, we're only allowed to see each other without the glass separating us once a week, he's only going to get to hold his son once a week! Every other interaction will occur behind a panel of glass." She sighs. 

"I know it sucks but I'm here! I can teach him how to throw a football, I can take him fishing, take him to the monster truck races, I'll do that for him." 

"You will?" 

He nods and pulls her close, kissing her forehead. "Yeah, I may not be his dad but I am his dad's best friend, and I'm going to help you make sure this kid has a damn good life." 

"Thanks, Fred. I don't know what I'd do without you."


	66. Late Dinner

Alice wakes up as Chic kicks her stomach hard and repeatedly. "Go back to sleep." She mumbles as if that has any effect. She tries to ignore his kicking but then he starts pressing against her bladder and she tiredly gets out of bed to use the bathroom. 

She takes a quick shower to wake herself up and brushes her teeth, it's Sunday after all, which means she gets to visit FP, gets to touch him. 

She gets dressed, opting for a more tight fitting shirt to proudly show off their growing baby to him. "Listen you, you're making me eat so many burgers my pants aren't fitting very well anymore." She rubs her stomach and Chic rewards her with a kick. "We get to go see daddy, though by how much you're kicking I feel like you somehow knew that. He's gonna love on you so much today, he hasn't seen you in a little while." 

_____

She waits anxiously for FP, it's been a couple of weeks since she last saw him without the glass to separate them. 

She hears the door open and he gets led in. He has the biggest smile on his face as the officer removes his handcuffs and as soon as they're gone he rushes over to her. He envelops her in his arms and holds her so close. "My God, Ive missed you so much. You smell so good, you look so beautiful, wow." 

She laughs and holds him even tighter. "I've missed you," She pulls back from his hug and gives him a long kiss. "we both have." 

He smiles as he looks down at her stomach, placing his hand on her ever growing bump. "He's getting so big." 

She smiles and leads him over to the table she's at so she can sit down. He pulls a chair over, once again ignoring the glare from the guard for doing such a thing. His hand immediately returns to her bump and he leans down to pepper it in kisses. "Hey there baby boy, it's daddy. I've missed you so, so much." He kicks against FP's hand and Alice watches as his smile gets even bigger. "I'll never get tired of feeling him kick." 

"Yeah well it's not so fun when he starts kicking my bladder at three in the morning." 

"Yeah that doesn't sound very enjoyable." He leans over and pecks a kiss to her cheek. "I wish I could be there. God, Al, I would love to sleep beside you and keep my hand on your stomach all night, just feeling him move around and grow in there. It's so crazy to me that we made him." 

"It's crazy to me too. He helps me feel not so alone." 

"You feel alone?" He pouts at her. 

"Well I mean, I know I'm not literally alone, I have Fred and Hermione and... uh, Hal. But it's not the same without you there." 

"I get it. It's not the same without you either, I mean there's hundreds of people here but you're the only one who ever matters." 

"Stop." He laughs as he watches her fight back tears. "You know you can't say cute stuff like that to me right now, my hormones are crazy." 

"I'm sorry, babe." He draws her in for a hug and kisses her head. 

They make small talk for a little bit, both avoiding the one question she knows is dwelling on his mind; Hal. 

"So um... how's Hal?" He questions, his hand drifting to her stomach again. 

"He's good." 

"That's pretty vague. Come on, Al, I told you to move on you don't have to hide the details from me. I want to make sure he's treating you good." 

"He is. Nothing too serious, just a few dates... a kiss or two." Her cheeks flush. "Your son hates him." 

"Well, like father like son." 

"FP-" 

"Babe, I'm kidding. Look I think it's clear that I'm not Cooper's number one fan but if he makes my girl happy than he's alright in my books. Just as long as he's treating you right." 

She sighs. "He's not you." 

"I know but I can't be there right now, I wish I could, I wish it more than anything but I can't. I'm just glad you found someone who's making you happy, and I'm also glad that Chic here is watching out for his mama." He pats her stomach and she smiles. "That's my boy." 

_____

She gets a phone call as she's laying in her bed reading a book and she expects it to be FP calling from the prison. But when she answers the phone it's Hal on the other end of the line. 

"Hey, Alice. I was wondering if you want to go to Pop's for a late dinner?" 

Just the mere idea of burgers makes her mouth water. "Yeah, that sounds great." 

"Great. I'll pick you up in about twenty minutes, is that alright?" 

"That's perfect. See you then!" 

She quickly gets changed out of the tighter fitting shirt and into an old sweater of FP's, it hides her bump perfectly. 

"Listen mister, I know you don't like Hal but you're getting a burger out of this so be a good boy. Don't go making me get sick."

Hal picks her up in twenty minutes as promised and takes her to Pop's Chocklit Shoppe. 

"I actually had a reason for asking you out tonight, not just so we can get some food, though that is a plus." She laughs at that and he smiles, reaching for her hand. "I was actually wondering if you wanted to make things... official between us?" Her mouth falls open slightly. "I know it's really soon and I understand if you don't-" 

"No! I mean, yes." 

"Yes to what?" 

"Yes to making things official." She answers and is rewarded with a gigantic smile from Hal. 

"You don't think it's too soon?" 

"Maybe... but I think sometimes the things that happen too soon can turn out to be a blessing in disguise." She rubs her hand across her belly underneath the table and feels Chic nudge against her fingertips.


	67. Found Out

Chic is kicking her hard as she gets ready. "Calm down, baby boy." She rubs her stomach slowly and feels him nudge against her fingers. He loves getting attention, just like FP. 

Hal invited her over to hang out since his parents are away at work and he's got the house to himself. They've been dating officially for a few weeks now and she finds herself falling more and more for him. Chic on the other hand hasn't changed his mind whatsoever. 

Chic seems relatively calm as she drives to the Cooper household and she's thankful for that. Almost every time she's spending time with Hal, Chic likes to use her bladder as a squeeze toy and she has to make up a new excuse to use the bathroom every 10 minutes. Hal, bless his heart, doesn't think too much of it and if he does, he doesn't say anything. 

Hal answers almost as soon as she knocks on the door. "Hey there." He smiles cheekily at her and she smiles back as she leans up on her tip toes for a kiss. He takes her hand and leads her inside. 

She finds herself snuggled up to him on the couch fairly quickly, his arms wrapped around her as they watch some random movie they found on TV. 

"What time do your parents get back from work?" 

"Four thirty. Why?" 

"Oh, no reason." She smiles at him and he takes the hint, leaning in and kissing her softly. Once she kisses him back he deepens the kiss, tangling his fingers in her hair. 

She pulls him closer until he's practically on top of her and of course, that's when Chic would wake up. Hal's hand brushes her stomach as he moves it to her butt and the brief motion just spurs Chic on. 

As soon as he starts moving around she feels the need to use the bathroom. She pushes Hal back slightly, not that she wants to though. "What's wrong? Is this not okay?" 

"No, no it's fine. Believe me, it's great. I just... I have to use the bathroom." 

Her cheeks blush and he just laughs, pecking another kiss to her lips before moving off of her. "Down the hall, first door on the right." 

"Thanks." She jumps up from the couch and hurried to the bathroom. 

He turns to his side and reaches for throw pillow to place over the slight tent in his pants. As he reaches for it though he accidentally knocks Alice's bag off the couch, some of the contents spilling onto the floor. 

He leans over and puts everything back into her back, that's when he spies a bottle. But not just any bottle, a bottle of Prenatal vitamins. 

He knows all to well what those are and he stares at them in shock. 

She walks back into the living room and sees Hal staring at a bottle of something as he sits on the couch. "Hal? What are you looking at?" She gets closer and freezes when she realizes what it is. "Oh my God... Hal-" 

"You're pregnant?" 

"No. They're for someone else." She knows he won't buy it but she really doesn't want to admit the truth. 

"Why would you be carrying around someone else's prenatal vitamins, Alice?" 

"Okay... fine they're mine." 

He sighs. "Well I know it's mine since we haven't had sex yet, so I'm guessing it's FP's?" A tear rolls down her cheek as she nods slowly. "How far along?" 

"Five months." He inhales sharply. "Almost six." 

"Well then I guess you can't terminate it-" 

"Terminate him? That was never even a thought." 

"You were going to have it?" His eyes grow wide out of pure disbelief. 

"It's a boy, stop calling him 'it'." She glares at him. 

"You can't be serious, you thought you could raise this kid by yourself with your boyfriend in the slammer?" 

"I-" 

"God, is that why you took interest in me? So I could help pay the way for you and that bastard baby?" 

She snaps her head up to look at him with tears filling her eyes. "How dare you even accuse me of that." 

"How am I supposed to know? How did you even manage to keep this such a damn secret? Jeez, how did you manage to keep it a secret when we were making out and feeling each other up and shit?" 

"My breasts are a little higher than my stomach, Hal." 

He looks her up and down repeatedly, his gaze coming to a stop on her stomach. "You don't look pregnant." 

"That's because this sweater is like two sizes too big, even then it's just barely hiding it. I'm lucky it's not that obvious." 

"Damn right you're lucky, what would people say if they knew?" 

"I don't care what people say. They probably know already, Fred has a big mouth." 

"You don't care what people say? You got yourself pregnant Alice! You really think Berkeley is still going to want you? You really think any place or anyone is going to want you?" 

She glares at him and grabs her bag, taking the vitamins from his hand and storming out of his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know it’s probably unlikely that Alice would’ve been able to hide her pregnancy from people this long but for story sake let’s ignore that fact.


	68. “A Home For Troubled Youth”

There's a soft knock on her door and when she doesn't answer it opens slowly. "Hey." She lifts her head up to see Hal standing in her doorway. 

"What the fuck are you doing here?" 

"Come on, don't-" he sighs and walks over to her. "I just want to talk. I want to apologize, I said some pretty harsh things to you." 

"You were a complete dick." She lays back down and he hears her sniffle. 

"Yeah... I was, I admit that. I was just shocked."

"FP was shocked too but he didn't tell me to kill my child before he even has a chance at life." 

"I guess that was a bit extreme, it's just... my cousin Helen got pregnant at eighteen and that's what she did. My entire family thought it was the right thing to do, I guess I just thought the same because of them." 

"He has ears." 

"What?" His eyebrows crinkle in confusion. 

Alice sits up and glares at him. "He has ears. He heard you when you suggested termination." 

"He's a fetus, Alice. I don't think he even knew what I meant." 

"Maybe not but he could tell you were angry. He knows when someone's talking lovingly or sweet to him, he kicks like a little soccer player." 

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset you or... him. I just wanted you to know you don't have to do this all alone, you have options." He draws her close and she lays her head on his shoulder. 

"Not really." 

"Actually," he takes a seat next to her and she scoots away from him. He sighs but continues anyway. "there's this place, The Sisters of Quiet Mercy. They'd take good care of you and the baby." 

"I've never heard of them." 

"A home for troubled youth-" she glares at him and he backtracks. "not that your troubled, Alice. Just... they can help you. They'll take good care of you and the baby and that way you can be stress free during the next few months." 

"It sounds kind of nice, I guess. I mean, juggling school, pregnancy, keeping up my visits to FP... it's all been pretty difficult." 

"So why don't you go stay with The Sisters? I can call and get you in." 

"You can?" 

"Yeah, of course. Whatever you want." 

"That sounds nice, Hal." He pecks a kiss to her forehead and slowly creeps his hand towards her bump. He doesn't feel any kick or movement in response. "He must be sleeping." 

"That or he doesn't like me." Hal jokes but Alice really doesn't think it's that far out. She takes a laugh herself to make him feel better but can't seem to shake the uneasy feeling.


	69. Solitary

“Hi, I’m here to see FP Jones.” 

“Sorry, m’am, he’s in solitary confinement and can’t have any visitors.” 

“Excuse me? Why is he in solitary confinement?” 

“I can’t disclose that information.” 

“I’m family. I’m carrying his child!” 

“Still, I’m not allowed to give you the details of his confinement reason.” 

“Shit!” Alice hisses, running her fingers frustratedly through her hair. “Can I see Forysthe Jones?” 

“That can be arranged.” 

She’s lead to the visiting room and sits down in front of the glass pane, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Forsythe Sr. 

He comes in and smiles at her from behind the glass. They both pick up the phone. "Ah, it's the two people I've been hearing about non-stop." 

"Two?" Alice questions. 

"He told me about your little Jones on the way. Congratulations by the way." 

Alice smiles. "Thank you. He talks about the baby?" 

"Oh all the time. And if he's not he's talking about you or you and the baby." 

“That’s sweet.” She sighs. "Can you tell him something for me?" 

“Sure, kid. What’s up?” 

“I have to go away for a while, that’s what I came to tell him but he’s in solitary so I can’t.” 

“Where are you going?” 

“Just some place until the baby is born. Less stressful environment, I guess.” 

“Doesn’t sound like you’re wanting to go.” 

“Well yeah, I mean it wasn’t my idea but I think it’ll be okay.” 

“If it’s your parents forcing you to go just crash at the trailer or something.” 

“No, it’s not them. They’re really supportive of me and FP and the baby.” She lets out a heavy breath. “How’d he land himself in solitary?” 

“Got in a fight. He’s going to be there for a couple weeks.” 

“Shit. They don’t mess around here, huh?” 

“No. They really don’t.” 

“Is he alright?” 

“Yeah, he’s alright, got a shiner but nothing that hasn’t happened before. He’s just fine kiddo, don’t worry.” 

The guard tell her to wrap it up and she sighs. “Well, um, I have to get going but could you doing something for me when he gets out?” 

“Of course.” 

“Will you tell him I love him? Both of us.”


	70. Visitors

"How are you?" Hal asks as he sits with her on her bed. She's been in the Sisters for a few weeks now and he's been her only visitor. He told everyone that she was visiting a relative and that's why she wouldn't be at school. 

"I'm alright. It's kind of lonely here." 

"That's why I've been coming to visit you, for company." 

"I know, and I appreciate that but it's still lonely. I miss Fred, hell, I even miss Hermione." 

"Oh Alice, I would tell them to come visit you but you know they'd probably just blab to everyone about where you are." 

"I don't think I care." 

He looks taken aback. "But they'd know about the baby?" 

"I'm not ashamed, Yeah it wasn't exactly planned but he's my baby." 

"Well-" a knock on the door interrupts them. 

"Visiting time is over." One of the Sisters informs him. 

"I'll see you in a couple days." He leans over to kiss her forehead and then is escorted out by the Sister. 

Alice sighs and leans back on the bed, rubbing her stomach and feeling Chic nudge against her fingertips. 

A while later one of the Sisters comes by to give her her prenatal vitamins and she gets an idea. 

"Sister?" The woman turns to Alice, urging her to continue. "Am I able to send a letter to someone?" 

"Well I don't know, who would you be sending it to?" 

"My parents. Just want them to know how Im doing." 

"Well, I guess there's no harm in that, it's nice that you want to keep in contact with your parents. Tell you what, I'll bring you some paper and a pen and you can write a letter to them." 

"Great, thank you!" 

As promised she brings Alice some paper and a pen. She sits down in a chair by Alice's bed as she waits for her to finish writing. 

Alice writes a letter to Fred instead, telling him when he can come visit. Thursday's Hal has football practice and can't come see her so she deems that the perfect time for Fred to visit. 

She's desperate to see a friendly face, someone other than Hal. She loves when he visits her but it's a bit tiresome. 

The Sister takes the letter from her once she finishes writing it and promises to mail it straight away much to Alice's content. 

_____

On Thursday she counts down the hours until visitors can come, she hopes that Fred will come, she has a good feeling he will but who knows. 

"Miss Smith?" A Sister knocks on the door. 

"Yes?" 

"You have a visitor, would you like me to send him in?" 

"Yes please!" She hopes it's Fred. 

And sure enough it is. He smiles at her as he walks into her room and she rushes over to hug him. "I've missed you so much, thank God you're here." 

"I missed you too. It's not the same without you and FP." 

"Try being stuck here all alone every day." 

"I still don't get why you're here, Alice. I mean you just say the word and I'll get you the hell out of this place." 

"It'll be good for me. That's what Hal says at least." 

"Alice, do you really think he has your best interest at heart? He just doesn't want people knowing his girlfriend is having someone else's baby." 

"Fred I didn't tell you to come visit just so you could berate me." 

"Sorry." He sits down on her bed and she joins him. "Kinda drab, huh?" 

"Yeah not the fanciest of rooms but it works." 

"Well, I may have brought something to help liven up this joint." 

"Fred if you have pot in your pocket I'll kill you." 

He chuckles. "No, not that. I mean, I brought you something." He digs into his coat pocket and hands her an envelope. 

She raises an eyebrow at him but opens it. "Oh Fred..." inside is the sonogram of Chic and a polaroid photo she took of FP. 

"I thought you would want to have those, help make the next few months a little easier." 

"Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me." She hugs him tight. "I'm sorry, that sounds so dramatic and I'm crying but I'm just-" 

"I get it, you're pregnant, you have hormones and stuff." She nods and wipes the tears from her cheeks. "So, am I allowed to come visit you again or is this just like a one time thing?" 

"No, you can come again! But come on Thursdays only, Hal would be mad if he found out you were visiting. He already doesn't want anyone coming to visit me." 

"What about your parents? Aren't they allowed to see you?" 

"Yeah but he doesn't want anyone who goes to our school or even anyone who knows who he or I am to come visit, he doesn't want my location to get out." 

"Sounds like he's got you under some weird protection program." 

"Sometimes it feels that way." She sighs.


	71. Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mini Time jump!

The months go by slowly. Agonizingly slow. 

Fred visits every Thursday, sometimes bringing along Hermione for extra company. He brings her candy and books to keep her occupied while Hal brings her homework and a headache. 

She aches for FP, just to talk to him. 

Fred's been visiting him on her behalf, but even still, she wishes it was her seeing him. 

"How is she?" FP asks. 

"She's good. Bored, but good." 

"How about our boy?" 

"Growing like a weed. She's huge." FP smiles. 

"God I wish I could see her." 

"Well I may or may not have snuck in a camera when I went to see her. I snapped a picture of her and the bump for ya, left it with the lady at the front." 

"Thank you! Seriously you have no idea how much it means to me." 

"I know how shitty it must be in here, figured it's the least I could do." 

"When he's born can you get a picture for me? I mean I'm sure she'll come visit but I want to have a picture." 

"Yeah, course I'll do that for you." Fred promises. "Pretty sure he's gonna be a soccer player with how much he's kicking. Anytime I hug her I get kicked in the gut by him." 

FP smiles. "That's my boy." 

_____

She's been feeling uncomfortable all day, had told that to one of the Sister's but none of them really paid much mind to her concerns. 

She's been in and out of sleep for the past couple of hours, having an aching cramp-like pain in her abdomen. 

She walks over to her door, clutching her stomach tightly as the pain gets worse. She tries to open the door but it's locked. They always lock them in their rooms at night. 

She takes a deep breath and starts walking around her room, hoping it will help with the pain. She assumes it's just false labour, Chic isn't due for another couple weeks. 

But her thoughts are proven wrong when she feels wetness run down her legs. She looks down and sees a puddle at her feet's, the pin worsening. She's definitely in labour.


	72. Baby Jones

She starts to panic, her door is locked and she's read enough baby books to know that once her water breaks the baby's going to be coming soon. 

She pounds on the door, hoping someone will hear her. But nobody comes. 

She settles down onto the floor, clutching her stomach and crying out in pain. She yells for someone, anyone to come help her. She can't deliver this baby on her own, she has no idea what to do. 

It's an hour and half later, though to Alice it feels like longer, when someone finally walks by. "Help! Wait, help me!" She screams for the woman. She unlocks the door and looks at Alice sobbing in pain. "My baby's coming." 

"Okay, stay calm dear." She walks over and takes Alice hand to help her up. "Let's get you on the bed." She helps her lay down and rushes over to the door, calling out for help. 

It all happens so quickly and soon there are multiple of the Sisters in her room, a supply of towels and hot water with them. 

Sister Whitely, the one who's been helping Alice throughout her pregnancy, kneels in front of her bed. "Alice, dear, you need to push." 

"No, we need to go to a hospital." She whines. 

"There's no time, you're crowing. We need to get the baby out right now." Alice whimpers and sits up a little. "Alright, push." 

Alice screams as she pushes, clutching a pillow as hard as she can. She wishes FP were there to hold her hand through, hell she wishes anyone was there to hold her hand through it, but especially FP.

"Push, Miss Smith." 

"I can't!" It feels like it's going on for hours. 

"Yes you can, your baby is almost here." 

"It hurts." She whines. 

"I know, but you have to keep pushing, do it for your baby." She groans but does as she's told. She pushes as hard as she can. "Good girl, I can see the head, keep going." 

She lets her mind drift to happier thoughts. Thoughts of how it'll be when Chic is born, when she can go visit FP with him. She can't wait to see the smile on his face when he finally meets his baby boy. 

Her thoughts are punctured by the sounds of a baby crying and she looks down to see her baby boy in Sister Whitley's arms. 

"It's a boy." She smiles, cleaning him off. "Congratulations." 

"Thank you." Alice is in disbelief as she stares at Chic. That's her baby, that's her and FP's baby. 

"Here you go," she coos to the baby boy who's still wailing. "here's your mommy." She places Chic on Alice's chest and his crying stops instantly. 

"Hi baby, I'm your mommy." She sniffles as she presses a kiss to his head. "God you're so perfect, you're everything I imagined and more."

_____

The next few hours Alice spends just staring at Chic, completely in awe of how much she loves him. 

Sister Whitely comes in. "Oh good, you're here! He's been pretty fussy, I think he's hungry but I just don't exactly know how to breastfeed him so-" 

"Miss Smith, I was reading over your file... I'm here to take the baby." 

Alice's eyes grow wide and she holds Chic closer to her. "What? Why?" 

Sister Whitely looks at her confused. "In your file it says you arranged for a closed adoption." 

"What? No, I never arranged for that! I planned on keeping him, my boyfriend and I were keeping him." 

"But your file says-" 

"I don't care what my file says! I didn't consent to this, you're not taking my baby away from me." 

"Well, I guess if you didn't consent to it then there must have been a mistake. I'm sorry for worrying you." 

"That's alright, just as long as you know I'm not putting him up for adoption." 

"Yes, Miss Smith. Now, let's get this little one fed."


	73. Taken

Chic's a day old and Alice hasn't been able to take her eyes off of him. He looks just like FP with his big brown eyes. He has her lips but everything else is all FP. 

She keeps his bassinet right beside her bed all night so she can pick him up quickly and take care of whatever he needs. 

It's a Thursday which means Hal can't come visit which she's thankful for. She doesn't want to share Chic with anyone, she just wants to be able to love him and snuggle him all herself. She does however want to go visit FP so he can meet him, she'll have to ask when she can get out. 

"Hi, baby boy. Whatcha up to, cutie?" Chic gurgles as she talks to him. Just talking to him seems to soothe him. "Why don't we take a picture so we can give it to daddy?" She reaches for the camera Fred had snuck in. 

She lays Chic down on the bed and snaps a picture of him, taking an extra one so that she can keep it herself. "You look just like your daddy. So handsome." She picks him back up and peppers kisses all over his cheeks. "I love you so much, I know I say that a lot but I do. I'm going to give you the best life I can. Your daddy loves you too, you'll meet him soon." 

_____

"Miss Smith, you have a visitor." One of the Sisters informs her. 

"Send them in." Alice smiles, holding Chic in her arms. 

Hal walks into her room and his eyes grow wide at the sight of a baby in her arms. "You had it?" 

She glares at him. "His name is Chic, don't call him it." 

"When did you-" 

"Wednesday morning." 

"But, I... how do you have him?" He looks at Chic as if he's the most disgusting thing he's ever seen. 

"What do you- oh my God, it was you!" 

"What are you talking about?"

"Sister Whitely came into my room yesterday to take Chic away, she said that in my file I had arranged a closed adoption but I never did." 

"What does that have to do with me?" 

"You're the one who arranged that weren't you? You're the one who told them I was putting him up for adoption." 

"Alice-" 

"How could you? He's my son!" Her eyes fill with tears. 

"I just thought it would be better for you." 

"But you didn't even ask me! You just arranged for my son to be taken away." 

"Do you really think you're capable of taking care of a child?" He joins her on the bed and she holds Chic closer to her. "You live on the Southside, your baby daddy's in jail, you're in high school. How is that a good life for a child?" 

"I'm going to give him everything, I have lots of clothes, toys, diapers, everything. Yes it may not be the ideal life but he's so loved, I'm going to give him the world." 

"I thought you wanted to go to college, no college is going to want some scummy Southside slut who got herself knocked up." 

"You fucking asshole, how dare you! I'm your girlfriend, God knows why I gave you a second chance! I should've known you'd never change." 

"Alice, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings I just want you to realize what kind of life he's going to have." He places his hand on her knee and looks deep into her eyes. "The Southside is no place to raise a baby, there's gangs and drugs, it's not safe. And what about the cost of raising a child? You don't have that kind of money, neither do your parents, how are you going to take care of him? And FP's in jail so it's like hell ever get to see him-" 

"Yes he will!" 

"You're going to bring a baby into prison? That's great parenting, Alice. What if that influences him to be a criminal when he's older? Huh? And what about school, you won't be able to focus on your school work, you'll probably flunk twelfth grade and you'll be so busy with him that you won't be able to retake it. What kind of example does that set for him?" 

She looks down at Chic who's staring up at her. "I guess I never thought about that." 

"Exactly, you didn't think about anything! Alice, I'm just looking out for you that's why I did this." He sighs. "Alice, you're way over your head, you can't be a mother at 17. He needs a better life than that, he deserves something more than a mom who can barely provide for him. Don't you think he'd be better off with a family who can actually take care of him?" 

"I guess." She sighs and feels Chic wrap his tiny fist around her finger. "But... he's my baby." 

"Do you love him?" 

"Of course I do! What kind of question is that?" 

"Then let someone else take him in, someone who can provide a better life for him. If you really love him, you'll want the best for him." 

"Okay." She breathes. 

"Okay?" 

"You're right, I can't give him the life he deserves." She feels a tear slip down her cheek. "He deserves the world, I want him to have it." 

"I'll go talk to the Sisters so you don't have to." He presses a kiss to her forehead. "You're doing the right thing, Alice." 

She nods silently and snuggles Chic closer to her. Hal leaves the room and she bursts into tears. 

_____

"Miss Smith?" Sister Whitely comes into the room along with an adoption agent. "It's time." 

"Can I just... have a moment?" 

"Of course." 

They start collecting his things and Alice sighs as she looks down at her baby boy. "I love you so much, Chic. I hope you know that. I just want you to have the best life possible and I don't think I'm capable of giving you it. I want to, God I want to, but I just... you deserve the world, baby boy." She tries to hold back her tears but they fall anyway. "I'm going to make sure your daddy hears all about you, he loves you so so much, and maybe one day we'll see each other again." 

"It's time." 

Alice nods and cries harder as she lifts Chic up to give him a kiss. "I love you so much, Chic." 

The adoption agent takes Chic out of her arms and he immediately starts crying. They walk out of the room without another glance at her. She can hear Chic's cries as they walk down the hallway and it kills her. Deep down she knows it's for the best but that doesn't make it hurt any less. 

She knows if they just let her hold him, or touch him he'd calm right down but soon she can't hear his cries anymore, they only echo in her head.


	74. Taunting

She doesn’t leave her bed for a week. The Sisters have to bring her her food because she won’t get up. The polaroid photo she took of Chic has tear stains on it, she can’t let it go. 

“Miss Smith, you have a visitor.” Sister Whitely tells her. She doesn’t answer. 

She watches as Hal walks in and he sighs as he looks at her. “What’s wrong, Alice? They told me you haven’t left your room in a week.” 

She glares at him and sits up. "What's wrong? What's wrong is that you signed off for my baby to be taken away from me.” 

“You agreed to it!” 

“You manipulated me into agreeing! That was my baby, my son, and you convinced me that I was going to be a horrible mother and that he would have a shitty life.” 

“He would have!” 

“No, he wouldn’t of! Because I love him, he’s my baby, he was going to be so loved. Yeah maybe it would be difficult but I would make it work.” She sighs. “You’re just afraid of what people would think.” 

"Alice-"

"No! You're ashamed of me and the fact that I got pregnant, you're mad because it's not your fucking baby, Hal. Not because of me getting pregnant but because it's his baby!"

"Stop it." He hisses through clenched teeth.

"What? Am I making you mad? Jealous?" She gets out of her bed and steps closer to him, so close he can feel her breath on him. "Are you thinking about me lying underneath FP? Naked? Our naked, sweaty bodies grinding against one another. Thinking about how he touched me and how I liked it, how I let him touch me. How he did things to your precious little Alice that would make the pope blush? Huh Hal? Are you thinking about that? Are you thinking about FP and I fu-" His hand comes in contact with her cheek with a loud smack before she can even finish her taunting. 

She holds her cheek and glares at him with tears in her eyes. "Get out."

He tries to reach for her, pleading with her but she shoves him away. "Alice, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Get out!" She yells at him. "I don't want you here so get the hell out of my room or I’ll scream for someone to forcibly remove you."

He doesn't say anything else, just gets up and silently walks out the door.

She crumbles as soon as he’s gone, sinking down to the floor in a heap of tears. 

_____

“Sweetheart?” She turns to see her mom and dad in the doorway.

She runs to them and hugs them tight. “Hi. I’ve missed you so much.” 

“Alice, honey, are you alright?” Her father asks. 

“They took him away.” 

“We know sweetheart, that’s why we’re here. We’re taking you home.” 

“You are?” They nod. “Hal told me I wouldn’t be able to take care of him, I wouldn’t be able to give him a good life. Maybe he’s right.” 

Her parents don’t say anything, not wanting to upset her more, instead they hug her. Holding her tight as she cries. “It’s going to be alright, you’re coming home.”


	75. Reunited

"He's wrong, sweetheart." Her mom tells her as she tells her parents everything Hal had said to her. "You would have been an amazing mom, you were already providing a great life for him before you went to that God awful place." 

She thinks of the little nursery she had started for him, it wasn't much, just a crib and a few stuffed animals. "Oh no, the crib and everything it's-" 

"We took care of it honey, don't worry. We didn't want you to be in more pain by seeing it." Her dad comforts her. 

She's silent the rest of the way, silently crying in the backseat as she clutches the picture she took of Chic tight in her hand. 

_____

"Alice honey, Fred's here." Her mom softly tells her from the doorway. "Do you want me tell him to come back later?" 

She sniffles and sits up in her bed. She hasn't moved since she got home. "No, he can come up." 

Her mom gives her a smile before walking back downstairs to send Fred up. 

"Hey, Al." She runs to him as soon as we walks into her room, hugging him tight and bursting into tears. He holds her close as she cries, knowing she needs the comfort. 

"They took him away." 

"I know." He sighs and kisses the top of her head. "Bastards." 

"Hal told me I was going to be a bad mother, that I wouldn't be able to provide for him and that he'd be better off with another family... and I fucking believed him. Now my baby is God only knows where." She sniffles and feels him tense as she tells him the story. 

"Fucking bastard." He pulls away just enough to cup her face in his hands, taking a sharp inhale when he sees the slight bruise on her cheek. "Did he do this to you?" She nods. "He's a fucking asshole, never liked him." he sighs. "I hope you know that he's so wrong, Alice. You would've given that kid the best life, yeah so what if you didn't have a ton of money, you had so much love for him. That's what matters. Your past doesn't matter, where you live doesn't matter, none of it matters." 

"But-"

"No buts. Stop doubting yourself, don't listen to that piece of shit. He's just pissed because Chic wasn't his." 

"Oh God..." she steps away from him and gasps. "FP. How do I explain to him what I did?" He takes her by the shoulders and nudges her to sit on her bed, he joins her. 

"You just have to tell him. He's going to be mad, I won't even lie to you, but he loves you more than anything in the world, I don't think he can ever stay mad at you." 

"I don't think I can handle it. He's going to be heartbroken, he loved Chic so much. He didn't even get to meet him." 

"You did what you believed was best for him at the time. He can't be mad at you for that." 

"Okay." She takes a deep breath. "Tomorrow." 

"Get the hell out of here!" She hears her dad yell from downstairs. Her and Fred share a glance and rush to see what the commotion is all about. 

They see none other than Hal fucking Cooper standing in the doorway of her house, being betrayed by her parents. He looks over and sees her. "Alice! Please, I just want to talk!" 

"Get the hell out, you've done enough." Fred yells at him. 

"This doesn't concern you Andrews!" 

Fred clenches his jaw and walks towards him. "When you start manipulating my best friend into thinking she's a bad mom and hitting her, it does concern me. Now I'm not going to say it again, get the hell out of here or I'll remove you myself." 

Hal sighs and looks at her once more before turning and leaving as Alice breaks into tears yet again.


	76. “How Could You?”

Alice waits nervously for FP to come into the visitation room.  She feels like she's got a herd of butterflies in her stomach. 

The door opens and FP walks in, hurrying over to her once he sees her. He wraps his arms around her tightly and she breathes him in, clinging to him. "My God, I've missed you so damn much." 

"I'm sorry, I was at this place-" 

"I know, my dad told me." He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm just happy you're here now." He presses a soft kiss to her lips and rests his forehead against hers. He drops his hand down and she cringes as his hand trails over her abdomen. "Oh my God!" 

"FP-" 

"You had him!" He smiles excitedly. "Is he here? Wait, obviously not. Is it because of all the germs? I'll ask for a mini hazmat suit or something if-" 

She cuts him off. "FP, he's... he's not here." 

"Well I know that. Is he with your parents? God I bet they just love him!" 

"Honey, he's not with me at all." 

His eyebrows crinkle. "I don't understand." 

"Sit down." She takes a deep breath as they both sit down. "I had him a week ago." 

"So he's just too little to come here?" 

"No, FP, listen. I had him a week ago and he was perfect. The sisters told me that they were going to be taking him because in my file it said  that I had asked for a closed adoption." 

"What? You did?" 

"No. Just... just listen. I told them I didn't arrange for that, come to find out it was Hal who did that." 

FP scoffs. "Piece of shit." 

"He was so mad when he saw Chic in my arms, he thought that he was taken away. He told me I was going to be a terrible mother, that I wouldn't be able to provide for him, that he would just become Southside scum like you and I... and I believed him." 

"Please tell me you didn't do what I think you did." FP eyes fill with tears and she doesn't even need to answer for him to know the answer. "Fuck. How could you?" 

She feels tears slip down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I-" 

"That's our baby, Alice, and you just let him get taken away like that? To what? Live with some fucking stranger?" She's silent, not even knowing what to say because nothing can make it any better. "I can't even believe you." 

"FP, I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you-" 

"That's funny, because you did." He takes a deep breath and wipes at his eyes. "I can't be here right now." 

"Baby, please don't go." She reaches for his hand but he pulls it away and storms away from the table, his chair tumbling over.


	77. “Tell me about him?”

The doorbell rings as Alice is home alone and she reluctantly gets up to see who it is. "What the fuck do you want?" She hisses as she sees Hal standing there. 

"I just want to talk, Alice. Please." 

She sighs and steps aside for him to come in. "Thought you might want to come hit me again." 

"Believe me I feel terrible for doing that." 

"Yeah my cheek felt pretty terrible too, especially with a pretty blue bruise on it." 

"Shit. I'm sorry, Alice. I was a jerk. I just... I wanted you and your son to have her best life possible and then you started talking about FP and you having sex and I just... I got jealous." 

She laughs. "That's not an excuse to hit me!" 

He steps closer to her, expecting her to flinch but she stays still as his hands come to her shoulders. "I'll never forgive myself for hurting you like that. I love you, Alice." 

Her eyes grow wide at the confession. "You do?" 

He nods. "So much. I don't expect you to say it back but I wanted you to know." 

"I..." she stops and opts to hug him instead. 

He holds her tight. "You're so beautiful, Alice. I don't deserve you." 

"You're a good man, Hal." She surprises him with the statement as she pulls away from the hug. "You've made some mistakes and said some horrible stuff but you're a good man." 

"I know it may be a little soon and I understand if you don't want to but would you like to come to dinner on Saturday?" 

She smiles. "I'd like that." 

"Fantastic. I'll pick you up at 5?" 

"That's perfect." She pecks a kiss to his cheek and he flashed a smile as he walks back outside. 

The phone rings before she even has a chance to think about everything that just happened with him. 

"Hello?" 

"An inmate from Shankshaw Prison is attempting to contact you, if you'd like to accept, press 1" 

Alice's heart skips a beat. She presses 1 and waits anxiously to be connected. 

"Al?" 

"FP, God you have no idea how amazing it is to hear your voice again." She sighs in relief. 

"I'm sorry I haven't called in a few days, I just... I needed some time to process everything." 

"It's okay!" 

"It's not okay. I was a total asshole to you and you don't deserve that. Fred came and visited and told me about how Cooper manipulated you and hurt you. When I get out of here I'm gonna kick his ass for laying a hand on you." 

"FP-" 

"Alice, don't even try to stick up for him or say that it's okay. It's not. I was mad at you but I didn't hit you. You don't deserve that shit. You deserve the world, fuck him if he doesn't realize that." 

"I love you." 

She can practically hear him smile. "I love you too." He's silent for a minute. "Will you tell me about him?" 

"He was perfect. Looked just like you, had your big brown eyes and had a mop of dark hair like you. I knew he would be your mini me." 

"I bet he was perfect, though I was hoping he'd get your eyes, they're gorgeous." 

"I'm sorry you didn't get to meet him." 

"Don't apologize, babe, I understand. Just... just tell me about him. Was he a good baby?" 

"The best." She smiles as she tells him all about their son.


	78. Mr and Mrs Smith

"They're going to hate me." Alice whines as she follows Hal into his house. 

"They won't hate you." 

"Yes they will. I'm the girl from the wrong side of the tracks who's here to ruin their baby boy. The only thing they know is that I was in a home because I was pregnant." The mention of her pregnancy is still a sore spot for her. 

"They're gonna love you. Just like me." He kisses her softly and takes her hand to lead her inside. "Mom, dad, this is Alice. Alice, this is my mom, Evelyn and my dad, Henry." 

"Nice to meet you, dear." Mrs Cooper looks her up and down as Mr Cooper greets her. She pulls on her skirt to make it a little longer, feeling judged under the woman's gaze. 

"Nice to meet you too." She smiles at them, still getting a glare from Mrs Cooper. 

"Harold has told us a lot about you, young lady." Mrs Cooper finally speaks. 

"All good I hope." Alice jokes, making Hal and his father smile. 

"If you consider having a child out of wedlock and living on the Southside good, then yes, all good." 

Alice feels her stomach tangle in knots and Hal clears his throat, pulling out a chair for Alice to sit down. 

_____

"So, Alice. Harold told us that your previous boyfriend is in prison for drug related charges." 

Alice's mouth gapes open and she digs her nails into her palms. "Uh, well, yes. That's true. He was set up." 

"Still, he was idiotic enough to land himself in such hot water. Hopefully you won't have that influence on our Harold." 

"Of course not, I didn't influence FP either." 

"Well, we just don't want to take our chances what with graduation just two weeks away." 

"I-" 

"He also said you went to prison. I presume that was because of drug related charges as well." 

"Well-" 

"Mom, knock it off." Hal scolds. 

"It's okay, Hal." Alice smiles softly at him. "Yes, I did go to prison and yes it was under drug related charges but it was a big misunderstanding." 

"Quite shameful behaviour, colleges must frown upon that." 

"Actually not so much, before I went to the Sisters I met with a few college programs and they all seemed quite impressed. Despite my past and your obvious distaste of me, I'm a smart girl. Colleges look at my brain not my record." She stands up from the table. "Excuse me." She drops her napkin on the table and walks off in search of the bathroom. 

_____ 

"Alice? It's me." Hal knocks on the door and she sighs before opening it to let him. "I'm so sorry!" 

She doesn't say anything just pulls him in and shuts the door before kissing him, hard. He's shocked but his hands come to her hips and he kisses her back. 

She hoists herself up onto the counter and hooks her legs around his waist, that's when he pulls away. "Alice-" 

"Hal, we don't have to do anything, just kiss me." 

He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't you want to talk about what happened out there?" 

"No. I want to make out with you and let you feel me up in your parents bathroom to spite your mother." 

He chuckles. "Alice, you really think this is the best way to spite my mom?" 

"Well I'd say we could fuck but I know you're not ready, and I respect that, so yes. This is the next best thing. She thinks I'm such a bad influence on her son, might as well prove her right." 

"I think you did enough right before you walked off, she was speechless." 

"That was my intention." She kisses him softly and slips off the counter. "You're right, maybe I should just drop it. I'm not looking for her approval, I have yours, that's all I need." 

"I love you." 

"I know." She kisses his cheek. "I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of my take on season 3 Alice, how she's been hurt and is seeking comfort in the farm. She's hurt by FP being in prison, by having to give up Chic, and is searching for validation in Hal. She knows she doesn't truly love him how she loves FP but he loves her, and that's enough for her.


	79. “Ready.”

I apologize for all the time jumps but I just don't want to drag on certain events and I have some stuff planned so I want to get to it.

_____

Graduation goes by smoothly and, much to her delight, Alice gets her diploma. Hal convinced her to follow him to Yale, he even bribed the headmaster into letting her in after registration closed. 

She had always dreamed of Berkeley but she figures Yale could be good too, it's certainly impressive. 

FP wasn't exactly thrilled when she told him she was still with Hal, he hates him for hurting her, for manipulating her. He also wasn't thrilled when she told him Hal had gotten her into Yale. He was so proud of her for getting into Berkeley using just her smarts, but now she's going to Yale because of her Hal's money and fear of not being able to control her. 

He hasn't been calling her much, of course thy talk still, it's just not as frequent. It's gone from multiple times a week to just once or twice. They're usually short conversations. 

He had asked for her to come visit but she always ends up canceling last minute, telling him that she has to go somewhere with Hal but she'd visit soon. She never follows up on the promise however and FP is left waiting by the visitation room every week in hopes that she'll come. 

She never did. 

_____

The first couple of months at Yale aren't the most entertaining for Alice but she knows she's getting a great education so she focuses on that. 

She and Hal have their own place on campus that they share with a few other students, even though his parents disapprove of them living together. They made that clear when they came home on a school break. 

It wasn't really a surprise to her that they disapproved, what did surprise her was what Hal said to her as they laid in his bed. 

He's kissing her and running his hands up and down her sides, just barely grazing his fingertips underneath her shirt. He pulls away and just looks into her eyes. "You okay, Hal?" She questions. 

"I think I'm ready." 

She thought he was going to end up waiting until marriage, so the revelation is a complete shock.

"You're sure?" She asks, leaning up on her elbow.

"Yes." He pauses before continuing. "But not here." 

A little thrill runs through her at the thought of consummating their relationship under his parents roof, Evelyn would surely lose her mind if she found out Alice had defiled her baby boy while they were in the next room. 

"Well then where?" 

"How about tomorrow night, Lover's Lane?"

"Alright." She smiles and kisses him. "Only if you're sure." 

"I'm positive." He kisses her hungrily and slides his hand up to cup her breast through her t-shirt. 

"Easy there tiger, save it for tomorrow night." She winks at him and snuggles up to him.


	80. Virginity

And just as he said there they are, in the front seat of his mom's station wagon at Lover's Lane. 

"You sure you want to do this? We don't have to if you're not ready." Alice tells him, placing her hand on his. 

"No, I'm ready. I love you and I want to make love to you." 

She laughs as she cries internally. "That's so cheesy," She kisses his cheek. "But I love you too." 

She can tell he doesn't know how to approach the situation so she helps by kissing him, passionately. He kisses her back and eventually moves his hands to the buttons of her blouse, undoing them slowly. 

He doesn't make a move to remove it, just lets his hands come to her hips. 

She pulls off her shirt and bra herself, leaving Hal a little breathless. She sees a smirk come across his face and feels her heart rate calm down. The truth is she's been uncomfortable with her body ever since having Chic, her breasts are larger and her stomach is softer with very faint stretch marks that have yet to completely fade. 

FP wouldn't even have blinked an eye had he been there after she had Chic, he would've worshipped her body. He would've told her how beautiful she is and kissed her all over. Maybe then she wouldn't be so self conscious if she had had someone to tell her how beautiful she was despite the noticeable changes in her body.  

He kisses her again and they make quick work of the remaining clothing on their bodies, until they're equally exposed to each other.

He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls a foil packet from a condom box. As he opens it he looks at her, almost as if to say, "See Alice? If you had just used one of these you wouldn't have gotten pregnant." 

She lays on her back on the bench seat of the station wagon as Hal hovers over top of her. 

He moves into her and she gasps at the feeling of being filled. It's been so long. 

She bears with him for a bit, but his unpracticed ways are clear and she's not enjoying herself as much as she wants to be. Which, in her opinion, is completely unfair. 

So she pushes on his shoulder and tells him to sit back. He does as she says with a confused look on his face. 

She ignores it and moves into his lap, straddling his legs with her own. She kisses him softly before sliding down onto him with practiced ease. She watches as Hal screws his eyes shut and feels his hands move to tighten around her waist. 

The act lasts a whole 2 minutes once she's on top, and she's left without any release of her own.

She knows FP wouldn't leave her unsatisfied, he always held off until she finished, but Hal was unpracticed and inexperienced. It's his first time so she doesn't blame him. 

She collapses onto the seat next to him and he wraps his arm around her. "Wow." He breathes. 

"How you feeling?" 

"Amazing. You're amazing, holy shit." 

"Glad you enjoyed yourself." She smirks and kisses the corner of his mouth. 

"Careful, might get me going again." 

"Nothing wrong with that, we have all night." 

He grins down at her and catches her lips in a hungry kiss. 10 minutes later and he's ready for her again and so she goes for it. 

This time she isn't left unsatisfied, but she is left feeling guilty. Because as she moved with him her mind raced with images and thoughts of FP. How he would touch her and kiss her and the sinfully sexy sounds he made. 

And as she hit her high all she pictured was FP underneath her, clinging to her as he too reached his peak. But when she opened her eyes it was still only Hal, and Alice realized in that moment that as much as she told herself she did, she has never, and most likely, will never love Hal.


	81. “Dragon’s Den”

Alice had come to realize that she would never be good enough for Hal in Evelyn Cooper’s eyes. No matter how many tweed skirts and pantyhose she owned, she would always be Southside trash to the woman. 

Hal’s been trying especially hard to turn her into the perfect Stepford wife that his parents would approve of, as for Alice? Well she truly couldn’t give a rats ass what they think of her. 

“Your mother hates me, Hal, that’s never going to change.” 

“Alice, she doesn’t hate you.” He sighs. 

“Well then she strongly dislikes me.” She smooths our the dress she’s wearing and sighs as she stares into the mirror. She doesn’t feel like herself. “We’ve been together for months now and the woman still doesn’t approve of me.” 

“Give her time.” 

“Hal, I’ve given her time! Lots of it! I’m sick of feeling like shot every time we go to your parents. Your dad is the only one who treats me like a human being.” 

“Well then focus on talking to my dad.” He wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her cheek. “You’re absolutely perfect to me, don’t listen to them, as long as I love you and you love me, I don’t care what my parents think.” 

“I know but it would be nice for them not to hate me.” She turns to him. “I mean what if we ever have kids? Are they going to hate those hypothetical grandchildren because they have my blood?” 

“Alice, sweetheart, you’re overthinking it.” 

“Am I?” 

“Yes.” He draws her close and kisses her forehead. “They’re going to love little Elizabeth and Polly.” 

“You’ve picked out our children’s names already?” 

“Well I’ve always had them picked out, for girl’s at least. Elizabeth after my great grandmother and Polly for my grandma Paulette.” 

“As long as we’re not naming any of them after Satan’s spawn.” His eyebrows crinkle in confusion. “Your mother. I’m not having another Evelyn Cooper, not happening.” 

He chuckles and kisses her softly. “That’s okay.” He smiles at her. “You look beautiful by the way.” 

“Thanks, Hal.” She pecks a kiss on his cheek. “Let’s go to the dragon’s den.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really short, I’m sorry about that. How would you feel if I kind of skipped ahead? I would be giving a description of the events that occurred during the time skip, but I just really don’t think I can drag events on any longer so I feel like a time skip is almost necessary! Let me know!


	82. Events

Hal proposes to her Sophomore year of college. 

It happened while at his parents house for thanksgiving, he had taken her out on a walk down at Sweetwater River to give her a break from his family. 

Evelyn was particularly bitchy that night and Hal could tell Alice was close to decking her. So he took her for a walk and when she had her back turned to him he took the opportunity to get down on one knee and present with her a big, shiny diamond ring. 

“Oh, Hal.” She had breathed, tears shining in her eyes. “Of course I’ll marry you.” 

The best part of it all bough was the look on Evelyn’s face when they announced the engagement. 

They got married junior year, a big celebration. Her dress was hideous, but at least she got Evelyn’s stamp of approval on it. It didn’t really flatter her body much, though it did have a nice cutout in the back that definitely made her feel more sexy and like herself. 

The rest of college seems to fly by and soon they both have their journalism degrees. They move back to Riverdale where Hal purchases the town newspaper, The Riverdale Register. 

However, the most drastic change to their lives was their daughter growing inside her. “Little Polly Evelyn Cooper.” Hal proclaimed once they found out they were in fact having a baby girl. 

They buy the big White House on Elm Street, it’s beautiful but Alice can’t help but feel a little uneasy about it. Elm Street? Really? 

She remembers all the times her and FP watched Nightmare on Elm Street and she'll admit she was scared. But it got easier to watch as time went on. 

But she can't shake the uneasy feeling as she looks at the street sign, then to Hal who flashes her a pearly white grin, and then down to her stomach. Noticeably smaller then when she was pregnant the first time. She can't help think that maybe she is living a nightmare, a literal nightmare on Elm street. But she brushes it off and rubs her hand comfortingly over her baby bump before following Hal up the walkway. 

With Polly she goes to the hospital, giving birth in a sterilized, clean hospital room, an epidural numbing her from the waist down. 

After she’s born Alice is left alone in the room with her, and as she holds her she can't help but cry as she thinks about the baby she gave away. She had tried her hardest not to think about Chic, deeming it easier to just not think about him since it still hurt her so much. 

She had felt such a connection with Chic in the short time she had known him, Polly however feelsq2aaa like a stranger. She loves her with all her heart, no doubt about that, but Polly is all about Hal, only falling asleep for Hal, only stopping her crying when Hal consoles her. Hell she wouldn't even breastfeed for the first week and Alice was about ready to give up and just have Hal bottle feed her every night. The baby girl most likely would have been content with that. 

Eventually it got easier and Polly started falling asleep in Alice's arms, was able to be consoled by Alice and eventually breastfed. But the road there was tough. 

Chic was so different, he had stopped crying the minute Alice touched him, had fallen asleep in her arms every night, and had breastfed on the first try. Maybe it was because she was all he had, or maybe it's because he could somehow feel the overwhelming love she had for him.

“Hal?” 

“Yeah, hun?” He hummed as head Polly in his arms on their couch, smiling down at the baby girl. 

“Would it be alright if I went out for a few hours?” 

“Of course, sweetheart. You deserve a little break.” 

She doesn't specify where she's going to him.

She ends up at the town jail where FP is still serving time. He’s getting out soon and she knows it. 

“Al?” She sees him say but doesn’t hear, from the other side of the glass and he picks up the phone. “Holy shit, this is a surprise. You look good!” 

“So do you.” She smiles. “It’s good to see you again... good to hear your voice.” 

“Yeah, you too. It’s been too long.” They both share a sad smile. “So what have you been up to in the past years?” 

“Well I um... I married Hal.” 

“You did?” He questions surprised. “Congratulations, really, Alice. I’m happy for you.” 

“We have a daughter.” She leaves out the part that Polly wasn't exactly planned. 

He swallows hard. “That’s great, Alice. I bet she’s beautiful.” 

“She is.” She confirms. “We um... we own the paper in town. You know, The Register?” 

“No way!” He smiles excitedly. “Alice that’s amazing! I always knew you’d do great things and my God, you so are. I mean owning the paper? That’s amazing, baby.” They both freeze when he calls her baby and he awkwardly clears his throat. 

She looks down at her feet, a sad expression on her face and he knows something is on her mind, but he's not going to push her to tell him anything. 

There's so much she wants to say to him, how she'd rather be in jail with him then at home with Hal. Because at least she'd be with him and she wouldn't be stuck in a marriage to a man she's not even sure she loves. Most of all she wants to tell him she loves him, even after all these years, and that deep down she knows always will. 

"Alice, can I ask you something?" She looks up at him. "I want an honest answer." He pauses to watch her expression and he can see the pain set deep in her eyes, it breaks his heart. "Are you happy."

He knows she could never lie to him and he could never lie to her, so he watches her intently as she thinks about her answer.   
"Yes... I am." 

He can see her eyes turn glassy, even from the other side of the glass, and he knows her answer is complete bullshit. But he won't call her on it, he can't, because as soon as she answers she's standing up, ready to put the phone back on the hook. In a desperate attempt he places his hand to the glass, gaining her attention back. He points to the phone and she raises it to her ear.

"I love you, Alice." Her face goes blank and her mouth opens slightly. 

She gives him the saddest smile he’s ever seen. “I love you too.” She walks away without another glance at him, and that's when he breaks down. The longer she's with Cooper, the more FP is going to lose her. He’s getting out soon and she’s married with a baby, he doesn’t stand a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much left now!


	83. “I Love You”

| Present Day |

He hears a knock on the door and groans a little. He's not expecting company and he really isn't in the mood for any, he just wants to wallow in his memories. 

But even still, he gets up from his chair and walks over to the door. When he opens it he sees the last person he would've expected to be standing on his front step in the middle of the night; Alice Cooper.

"Alice?" He nearly chokes on her name.

"Can I come in?" She asks softly, and God how he missed her voice.

"Of course." He says stepping aside to let her in. "What are you doing here? Not that I mind of course."

"I..." She starts but trails off, he can see in her eyes something's bothering her. 

"Alice?" He places a comforting hand on her shoulder and she feels her entire body grow warm and relax under his touch.

"I love you." She says as a tear falls. He looks at her dumbfounded. "I know I shouldn't have just showed up here and sprung it on you but I do, I love you. I never stopped. And it's probably crazy and stupid and I know you'll probably-"

"I have waited over twenty years to hear you say that again." Her expression softens and they stare at each other for a moment. "But why now? Why after twenty years are you telling me this?" His words sound harsh and he tries his best to deliver them softly.

"Hal and I... we got into a really big fight and he left, said he's staying at some bed and breakfast. And when he left I realized I didn't care." She pauses. "I didn't care where he went, I didn't care who he was with, I just didn't care. And then I thought about you, and how I wanted you to just randomly by some miracle show up because you're the only person who I ever cared about." 

He doesn't say anything, just reaches for her and wraps his arms around her. Her body relaxes in his arms and she holds onto him tightly. He pulls back a little and her head rises to look up at him.

She's still as beautiful as ever, her hair, while noticeably shorter now, still falls loosely on her shoulders, though now she keeps her hair more sleek rather than wild and wavy like she had when she was younger. Her hair is a lighter shade of blonde now and her eyes are still as blue as ever. Her body, even after three children, is still as perfect as ever. And even at 40 something she looks like she could pass for someone in their late 20's. 

But he does notice that she looks more tired, more stressed. That her strikingly blue eyes seem clouded with hurt. He briefly wonders what she's gone through in the last 20+ years, how Hal had treated her, but by the look in her eyes he can guess. 

He also wonders how things got so bad that she ended up here, with him, in his Sunnyside trailer so many years later. 

Then he looks down at the woman between his arms, he can see her eyes are glassy from tears threatening to fall, but Alice has always avoided crying in front of people as best she could. 

He runs his thumb across her cheek to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and she smiles softly. They stare at each other for a moment, taking in each other after so many years apart. 

Then she leans up and kisses him. 

They haven't kissed in over 20 years but they're lips still mould together so perfectly. He kisses her back, deeply. It's slow but it's filled with so much passion. 

She reaches for his flannel, pushing it off of his shoulders. "Wait, Al-" he mumbles against her lips and she pulls away frustratedly. "Not that I don't love where this is heading, but you look like you're having a rough night. I don't want to take advantage of you."  

"You're not taking advantage of me. I want this." 

"I want it too but... you're married." He feels stupid saying it, he knows she came here despite that and she already told him that she doesn't care about Hal. But he also doesn't want her to regret this in the morning.

She places her hand on his cheek, looking into his eyes and offering him a small smile. "Things between Hal and I have been over for a while." She pauses as she tries to guess what he's thinking, if he wants this, if he wants her. "Things between you and I have never been over." 

It only takes a moment before his lips are on hers again, kissing her with everything in him.  
His arms wrap around her waist, feeling the warmth of her smooth skin against him. She kisses him deeper, savouring every moment of it. 

She moans softly when his tongue slips past her lips and he reaches for her hips, pulling her skirt up a little higher as he picks her up. She wraps her legs firmly around his waist and her hands find their way into his hair. 

She reaches down to unfasten his belt and he reaches behind her to unzip her skirt before walking them to his bedroom and laying her softly on the bed. Taking in the sight of her after all these years.

They pull each other's clothes off item by item, and watch in awe as new parts of their bodies become exposed to one another.

She runs her hand up his chest and to his jaw, feeling the rough scrape of his beard against her palm and it sparks something in her.

He looks her over, head to toe, and runs his hand down the valley of her chest to curve around her hip. She's always been beautiful to him but god, she's even more beautiful then he remembered.

She pulls him to her, pressing his body against hers, feeling the erratic beating of his heart against her own. 

20 years they've waited for this... 20 damn years.

When he finally moves within her she clings to him tightly, and he leans back enough to watch her. Watch every single face she makes, every time her teeth sink into her bottom lip, every time he moves into her just right and her nails dig into his skin. 

And she watches him to, watches as his hands grip her hips tighter and tighter as the feeling heightens, watches as his jaw tenses every time he moves.

But most importantly they both watch one another as they cling to each other, hands grappling at any body part they can reach from their positions. Moaning as their lips nip and suck at each other's necks and collarbones. The pleasurable groaning sounds he makes as her nails rake lightly up his heated skin. 

Listening as the words, "I love you", fall from both of their lips as they hit their peak.


	84. Our Son

He really thought it was all a dream, Alice showing up, telling him she loves him, making love to her. He all thought it was just some amazing dream. But there she is, curled up beside him, fast asleep. 

He moves closer to her and presses a kiss to her shoulder to wake her up. "Al," he whispers, praying she doesn't regret anything that happened. "Al, wake up." Her eyes flutter open and she smiles sleepily when she sees him. 

"Good morning, handsome." She presses a soft kiss to his lips and tucks herself against his side. His arms wrap around her, holding her close as he runs his fingers up and down her bare back. 

She traces the Serpent tattoo on his chest.   
"I missed you." She tells him quietly, placing a soft kiss just above his heart.

"I missed you so much, Alice. You have no idea, how much." She leans her head up to kiss him and lays her back head on his shoulder.

“I’m so stupid.” She sighs. 

“You’re not stupid, Al. Why do you say that?” 

“I just... I’ve wasted so many years of my life with a man who was such a terrible person. You are perfect, you always have been, you’ve loved me through everything no matter what.” 

“You may do some stuff that I don’t exactly agree with but I could never hate you for any of it. I would never treat you the way he treats you, Alice.” 

“I should’ve just waited for you, then we could have had Charles, we probably would have had more children too. We would’ve gotten married, my life wouldn’t of been such a shit show. The only good part about it all is my girl’s.” 

"I didn’t want you to wait for me, that’s my fault.” He takes her hand and sighs. “I wish I could've been there though. For everything. I wish I could’ve held your hand during the birth, cut the umbilical cord, held our boy for the first time. I wish we could've raised him, together, as a family."

"I wish we could've too."

An idea sparks in him. "Why don't we?"

"What?" She turns to him, quickly.

"Why don't we find him? He's got to be over 18 now, we can go to the adoption agency and get his information. See if he wants to meet us. It's worth a shot."

"You're sure?" She says leaning up on her elbows to face him.

"He's my son, Alice. He's our son. I want to meet him... I want to meet our son."

She smiles and gives him a long kiss. "Alright, lets do it. We can go to the agency tomorrow and get his information."

“I love you, Alice. I hope you know that I always have.” 

“Of course I know. I’ve always known.” She kisses him again. “And I love you too.”


	85. Chapter 85

-5 months later-

"Alright, keep going." Alice instructs FP who's carrying a stack of boxes in his arms. "Okay, stop!" She takes one of the boxes from him, the one that was covering his face and preventing him from seeing. 

"You couldn't have taken that box earlier?" 

"You can't see your feet either, it really wouldn't of made a difference." She giggles and presses a kiss to his cheek. "Think you can make it upstairs without tripping?" 

"Just watch me, babe." He starts walking upstairs and Alice walks close behind him, keeping a hand out just in case he does fall. 

"Come this way, honey." Alice gestures for him to follow her as she walks down the hall to their  son's room. 

They had gotten in contact with the adoption agency who helped them get in contact with Chic, who was ecstatic to meet them. 

"Hi honey, how's the unpacking going?" Alice asks their son. 

They bought a new house for the entire family to fit into, perfectly balanced between the North and South side of town. They were originally living in the Cooper house, she had gotten the house after the divorce was finalized, but Alice wanted a fresh start and FP was happy to oblige. Truthfully, he was just happy they weren't all going to be squeezing into the trailer. 

"It's going good mom." He smiles at his parents. "I still can't believe I'm living with you guys, it just doesn't entirely seem real." 

"We're happy to have you here." Alice assures him. 

"Ecstatic, actually." FP adds. "We didn't think you'd want us, all things considered." 

"You did what you felt was best for me, I can't be mad at you for that." 

"We love you so much, honey." She gives him a kiss on the cheek and the boy smiles, he's got FP's crooked smile. "We'll leave you alone so you can finish packing. We were thinking Pop's for dinner?" 

"That sounds great!" He agrees with a smile. "Love you too." 

Alice walks into the master bedroom and FP follows behind her. 

"You can set the boxes down there." She tells him and he happily sets them down before falling onto their bed. "Hey you, get up and help me." She teases as she opens up one of the boxes. 

He shakes his head and reaches for her hand. "I'm exhausted from carrying in all those boxes, come take a break with me." 

"Oh fine. But no funny business." She crawls up onto the bed and lays her head on his chest, feeling his strong arms wrap around her. 

"When have I ever indulged in funny business?" She looks up at him with a raised eyebrow and he laughs. 

She sighs as the room goes quiet. "You alright, baby?" He questions. 

"It's not fair." She says, linking his fingers in her own. 

He turns to look at her, a puzzled expression on his face."What's not fair?"

"Our relationship." She moves so she's settled partly on top of him. "I mean, we've missed out on so much time. Over 20 years. How come we never got our happily ever after?" She looks sad as she ponders the thought and the thought makes him want to hold her as close as possible and never let go.

"I guess we were just meant to find each other again at a different point in our lives." He says, softly, as he brushes his thumb against her cheek. "And as for our happily ever after, I like to believe we're on our way to having it. I mean we've got all of our children under one roof, both of our crazy ass exes are out of the way. Hell, we've even got Chic, I never thought we would get to see him. And most importantly I've got you back."

She smiles softly and God, she takes his breath away. "I love you." She says as she leans closer to his face, where she ghosts her lips over his. 

"Ditto." His lips brush against hers as he speaks and she smiles as she captures his lips completely, kissing him with all the love she's had bottled up for him for the past 20 years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end!   
> I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Make sure you stay tuned for more Falice stories I'll be writing in the future.
> 
> And of course, thank you for all the reads, votes, and lovely comments you've left for me!


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